#Inwardly screaming the entire time & going to need a minute

[puppetmaster13u]

SO. Thinkin of This AU/Thread of ideas. Y'know, Halfa Jason adopting the entire liminal class. That one.

But what if, Dragon. Because I am in fact weak to dragon AUs. And I could draw them, but instead have scrys beneath the keep reading bit.

So, Ghosts are Dragons sort of AU. Which means that the people in Crime Alley debate on whether local dad Peter (Who is totally with Red Hood they're sure) & the kids are dragon-based metas, or in fact straight up dragons disguised as humans.

Jason isn't exactly oblivious about this per se, but like, dude also has 13 kids ranging from 4 to 6 who are also both very powerful and also traumatized from the whole GIW experiments going on. So. He's understandable more than a bit Distracted.

Jason [Star Core] & Jazz [Ocean Core] & Jordan [Sun Core]

Kyle [Shadow Core] & Kwan [Wind Core] & Dash [Speed Core]

Wes [Light Core] & Paulina [Fire Core] & Star [Electric Core]

Sam [Life Core] & Tucker [Storm Core] & Valerie [Metal Core]

Ellie [Moon Core] & Danny [Space Core] [& Bonus Fright Knight just Because]

Also have link to the designs of the fam for the base Au

Psspspsps @mkarchin713 @radiance1 @hdgnj @theobliviousshipper perhaps u may enjoy or have ideas

[tinkabelle24]

To Build a Home

Chapter 2: Liability

TW! Violence, blood and injury, medical intervention, death.

Masterlist / Chapter 1

---

(One month later...)

“Alright...The trash has been taken out, the floor’s been mopped, umm...all the glasses have been washed and put away. What else- oh, yeah! I’ve just finished counting the till - everything’s accounted for. I’ll just pop it in the safe...Done. Alrighty. Anythin' else you need me to do before I get going?”

Val stood at the threshold of her manager’s office, coated in sweat and exhausted from the long night; awaiting approval to finally clock off and head home.

Her manager turned away from her computer monitor to acknowledge the brunette. “Yeah, that should be it.” She offered a weary smile. “You’re good to go. Thanks, Valerie. Stay safe.”

Relieved, Val sighed inwardly. “Thank you. You too. See you tomorrow night.” As she turned to grab her belongings, the woman glimpsed the time on the wall-mounted clock beside the desk - it was after midnight. She turned back to her manager with a grin. “Actually, I’ll see you tonight.”

The blonde chuckled and rolled her eyes, waving her employee off. Donning her scarf, jacket and purse, Val clocked off and exited the underground bar, ensuring to lock the door behind her.

Val walked briskly down the dimly lit street, periodically checking her blind spots and maintaining a firm grip on her pocketknife concealed inside her purse.

She wasn't naïve; she knew she was toying with fire by being out alone after dark, but she didn't really have a choice in the matter. She didn't own a car nor a bike, and her funds were too stretched to afford a cab-ride home. She just had to make do for now, at least until she was more financially stable.

Several minutes into her walk and she hadn't come across a single soul. No traffic, no pedestrians, no obnoxiously loud music. Save for the distant wailing of sirens, the area was dead silent.

She quickly checked the time on her Fitbit, unwittingly tightening her grip on her pocketknife. It was just after 2:30am...on a Saturday. In Harlem.

This makes no sense.

The woman could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

I don't like this. Her pace quickened. I don't like this at all...

A loud metallic crash to her right froze Val in her tracks, and she immediately whipped out her blade. She shakily pointed the knife down the darkened alleyway, toward the noise's source. She could still hear some movement up ahead.

Stealing a glance down the street toward her apartment, she mentally calculated the time it would take her to floor it the rest of the way home.

Val's head snapped back at the barely audible sound of pained groans, followed by hissing. She lowered her weapon slightly as concern began to override her fear, and she took a tentative step forward.

Slowly, Val proceeded down the alleyway, entire body trembling with anticipation. Part of her was eager to aid this person, but the other part was screaming for her to run.

She approached several overturned trashcans, accompanied by droplets of fresh blood leading round the back of the building, outside her line of sight. The screaming grew louder. The woman faltered a moment, fighting the increasing urge to turn her heel and flee.

It's okay, Val.

You're fine.

You'll be fine.

It's gonna be fine...

She continued further.

Rounding the corner, she swiftly and roughly found herself relieved of her only means of defence and staring down the end of a peculiar looking pronged blade.

She froze, throat clenched and heart juddering violently against her chest.

You should've run.

You should've fucking run.

Eyes adjusting to the darkness, Val quickly realised the figure uncomfortably slumped against the building, holding her at knifepoint, was not human.

In truth, she couldn't pinpoint what they looked like exactly. Their pebbled, ashen-green skin and turtle-like shell led her to assume they were some unknown species of reptile, but they were presenting a few humanoid features as well. Their brilliant amber eyes, narrowed into a hostile yet fearful glare, tracked her every move.

The woman's expression softened slightly. There was something familiar about those eyes but, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out why. As she frantically wracked her brain to find how she knew this...person, they began lowering their weapon, eventually letting it slide out of their grasp and onto the pavement beside them.

That's when she saw it.

“Holy shit...” Val squeaked in horror. The entire left side of their body – from the top of their head down to their abdomen – was drenched in blood.

Was it their blood or someone else's? She couldn't tell. From her position, she was struggling to find any injuries beneath all that mess. Her eyes darted to their face as they winced, after a failed attempt to shift into a more comfortable position against the wall.

Val immediately dropped her purse. “Here,” she spoke gently as she approached. “Lemme help you.”

The humanoid turtle snapped their head toward her, eyes wide. “Don’t-” they whipped a three-fingered hand out to stop her.

Then it hit her, like a tonne of bricks.

“You...!” She gasped, hardly able to believe her denseness up until this point.

How could ya not know who you were looking at?!

He wasn't some average Joe. No, he was a near 6-foot talking turtle-man, for crying out loud!

Val's memory of that night was a mess. She could remember being up on that roof and injuring her hand (she had the splint and a couple hundred dollars in medical bills to prove it), but the rest was a blur.

He must've just been another element her mind had repressed for the sake of her sanity.

The red-banded terrapin compressed his lips, silent, but Val caught a flicker of recognition in his eyes before it warped into a frown. “Get outta here,” he managed, with laboured breaths. “It ain’t safe...”

Watching his chest plates slowly rise and fall, she spotted a trickle of fresh blood as it fell from the penny-sized hole betwixt his shoulder and plastron.

He'd been shot.

Val’s panicked eyes darted to his hairless head. A four-inch gash marred the top half of it, narrowly avoiding his temple and left eye. His torn bandana lay amongst it, the fibres having merged with the partially coagulated blood.

“What happened??” She reached out instinctively to further inspect the wound. He snatched her wrist, though there was hardly any strength in it; she could have easily slipped out of his grasp if she wanted to.

“I said get outta here,” he growled, eyes piercing hers with a warning glare. “Go home. It ain’t safe.”

“Why? What happened-”

“For fu-” He winced, hand darting to his bloodied shoulder. As he slowly applied pressure to the wound, he hissed through gritted teeth.

“Here,” removing her scarf, Val wrapped it around her hand to form a tight loop. “Try this instead-”

“Will ya just-” he stiffened when she touched him, to which she immediately retracted her hand. They locked gazes for what felt like forever, neither one sure of the other.

“Please,” She insisted gently. “Lemme help you.”

He scowled, clearly flustered by her flagrant disregard for his wishes. He turned toward his injured shoulder for a moment, expression unreadable, before eventually returning his gaze to her with a defeated sigh.

“Your phone...”

Val promptly snatched her phone from her jacket pocket and unlocked it. She dialled the number he read out to her, then pressed ‘call’.

As he reached out to retrieve the offered device, she noticed he was becoming increasingly languid in his movements, as though he were actively fighting to stay awake.

She wondered how long he'd been out here, in this state, before she found him...

---

“Hello, this is Donnie, your friendly IT tech support. How may I assist you?”

“Hey, Don. I uh...I need a hand.”

“...Raph? Wha...Why are you calling me on this line? Where’s your shell-cell?”

Raph squeezed his eyes shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose, vision growing blurry. “I, uh...I-I misplaced it. You can track me usin’ this, yeah...?”

“What’s going on?”

He could hear commotion on the other line as Donnie presumably transferred to a wireless headset.

“Had a run-in with a few a’ those purple... motherfuckers...”

“Alright, stay on the line; I’m triangulating your location now... Raph, are you still there? Keep talking to me... Who’s that with you? ... Raph!”

---

“SHIT-”

Val caught the terrapin’s head just before he hit the ground, promptly sliding her purse beneath it to provide some cushioning.

“Hey, can you hear me??” She pet his blood-stained cheek. No response. She petted again, more firmly this time. “Hey!” Again, no response. He was out cold.

Oh, God. Oh, no...

As she checked his throat for a pulse, the brunette reached for her phone; she could still hear voices on the other line.

“Hello??” She called, struggling to keep her voice even. “You still there?” She heaved a relieved sigh when she finally located a pulse. It was faint, yes, but there it was.

“Hello, who’s this?” A masculine voice answered. “What’s going on?” Val could hear clamouring on the other line as they spoke, and at least two other voices.

“He fell unconscious,” she answered, putting the phone on speaker as she attempted shifting his body into a less awkward position. Each extremity required about all her strength to move. “He’s been shot - once, I-I think – in the shoulder. And he's got quite a large cut on his head. I don't know what from... There's a lot of blood.”

Retrieving her scarf, Val carefully wound it around the terrapin’s injured shoulder. As she did so, she glimpsed another similar sized hole close to his left shoulder blade. Inspecting it, she found the bullet had chipped part of his shell upon exiting his body. “I think I’ve found the exit wound!” She exclaimed, tying off the scarf at his clavicle.

“Okay. That's good. We know where you are; we'll be there in about two minutes. May I ask your name?”

“Valerie.”

“Valerie. Alright, keep talking to me, Valerie. Is he still breathing?”

“Yes, but his pulse is weak.”

“Hurry, Mikey!” One of the background voices bellowed.

“Okay, we’re coming,” The first voice replied. “Do you have anything you can use to make a tourniquet, to staunch the bleeding?”

“Already done. Is there anything I can do about his head?”

“Is it still bleeding?”

“No, it's stopped.”

“Just keep it clean and clear of debris; we’re almost there.”

“Okay.”

The roar of an engine pierced through the silence about a minute later, with two pairs of headlights illuminating the once darkened alleyway.

Val shielded her eyes as what appeared to be a heavily modified sanitation vehicle approached, screeching to a halt beside them.

Several doors swing open, and they were quickly descended upon by three shadowy figures. When her eyes finally adjusted, the woman was stunned to find three more humanoid turtles – armed to the teeth – standing before her.

The tallest, blue-banded one moved first, breezing past her as they hurried toward their unconscious friend. The other two were quick to follow. “Mikey, grab his legs,” Blue ordered, hooking his arms beneath Red’s shoulders.

“Watch his shoulder!” Purple hissed as Orange kneeled to grab Red’s ankles. Val recognised his voice; he was who she was speaking to over the phone. Donnie, was it?

As Blue and Orange hoisted him up, Blue turned to her with a decisive look marring his scarred features.

“Would you come with us, please, miss.”

It sounded more like a command than a request, and Val panicked a moment. She wondered, as Donnie offered a calloused, three-fingered hand for her to take, what kind of mess she'd just gotten herself entangled in.

Nevertheless, when her frightened gaze fell upon the unconscious figure being loaded into the truck's cabin, she felt compelled to comply.

Snatching up her purse, Val turned to accept Donnie’s hand. She could feel his breath against her neck as she followed the other two inside the truck, flinching when he slammed the door shut behind him.

“You can sit there if you like,” he gestured to the seat nearest to herself. “I’d buckle up, though.” She quickly did as she was told.

“Get us outta here, Mikey,” Blue ordered as Orange (or Mikey?) climbed into the driver’s seat. The truck lurched backward as it reversed out of the alleyway and onto the empty street.

Val gripped her seat and snapped her eyes shut, bracing herself for a rough ride. She stifled a yelp as she felt the truck lurch again, forward this time, as it proceeded weaving through the streets toward an unknown destination.

Amidst the chaos, Val finally mustered enough courage to open her eyes, finding Blue and Donnie on the floor of the cabin, hunched over their friend.

Donnie was busy tending the shoulder wound, while Blue did the same for the head wound. Her discarded scarf lay amongst the growing pile of equally soiled cloth, including Red’s bandana.

She could hear the two conversing hurriedly amongst themselves, passing tools and materials back and forth. They swapped places at one point, allowing Donnie and his remarkably steady hand to skilfully close the head wound with a large stapler.

The brunette flinched with each snap, but it emitted no response from the unconscious terrapin.

Meanwhile, Blue had inserted a cannula and was busy taping it down when he lifted his gaze to call Donnie’s attention. Val couldn't decipher everything being said, but she did hear blood being tossed around between them. Blood – transfusion?

She was so preoccupied attempting to listen in that she hadn't realised Blue was now staring across the cabin, at her.

“Did you see what happened?” He asked, snapping her out of her reverie.

Val visibly tensed under his scrutiny. “No,” she answered quietly, shaking her head. “I found him like that.” She braced herself for more questions but Blue simply turned away, returning his attention to his injured friend.

Turning toward the front of the truck, Val watched as they pulled inside a concealed entryway and eventually rolled to a halt.

After shutting off the engine, Mikey climbed inside the back of the truck to slide open the side door, allowing Blue and Donnie to carry Red out. He then turned to Val, offering her a small smile as he reached for her shoulder to lead her outside.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured, when she flinched under his touch. “We aren’t nearly as scary as we look.”

The orange-banded terrapin gave off a completely different vibe to the others. He had a kind, boyish face, and baby blue eyes. His shamrock green skin was near unblemished, save for a few nicks here and there. He had a youthful, comforting voice that reminded her of her brother.

He looked like someone she could trust, but so many strange things were happening all at once, she simply couldn't believe it.

“Where are we?” Val demanded, afraid to press forward. The temperature had markedly dropped and a pungent smell hung in the air. They hadn't travelled for long. Five minutes, tops. Why's it suddenly so cold? And what the hell's that smell??

As Mikey opened his mouth to answer, they became distracted by a sudden commotion outside.

---

Raph woke with a start, wincing at the immediate pressure against his throat. “Don’t you dare move,” he heard his younger brother, Donnie, hiss behind him.

“What the... how...?” Vision clearing, the injured terrapin found himself laid atop an uncomfortably cold metal table. He attempted shifting his weight but was quickly immobilised, held down by what he soon found to be his older brother, Leo, glaring back at him.

“We’ll talk later.” It was clear by the tautness of his jaw he was choosing his words very carefully.

“The bullet penetrated your left subclavian artery," Donnie informed him, preparing a syringe of clear liquid. "I need to seal it before I can close the wound. I’m giving you some morphine to help with the pain.”

As he injected the medication into Raph’s outer thigh, he continued. “This won't work straight away, obviously, so Leo’s gonna give you something else for now.”

Great...

Leo elevated his brother’s head slightly to allow him a swig of undiluted whiskey, before resting him back down onto a pillow.

“Bite down. Hard,” He instructed, pushing a tightly rolled hand towel between Raph’s teeth. The injured terrapin did as he was told, squeezed his eyes shut, and braced himself.

---

Val sat anxiously on the near spring-less sofa in the enormous living area, fingers clenched around the strap on her purse, heart pounding in her ears. The weight of her decision had finally hit her, and she mentally slapped herself for obliging these strangers.

Home was so close, she chided herself. You should have just run.

Now you're was in a strange place, with strange people, and no way to escape or defend yourself.

You’re an idiot. An absolute idiot.

It'd been about twenty minutes and she could still hear Red’s muffled screams; it was agonising to hear. What the hell were they doing to him in there? Did they not have local anaesthesia, or general?

She didn't get the chance to interject as Mikey ushered her out of the room, but Blue assured them he'd talk to her once they were done. Who knows how long that would be...

Did I ask for help from the right people, or did I unknowingly walk us both into a dangerous situation?

Unable to deal with the unknown any longer, Val snapped her eyes shut, covered her ears, and buried her face in her elbows. There, she fought to regain composure, but her thoughts where spiralling.

But he asked me to call them. Why would he do that if he didn't trust them? Why did I not just call a fucking ambulance?!

Breathe, Val. Breathe.

You’ll be no good to anyone if you can’t keep your head on straight. Breathe in and out... In and out... That’s it.

Finally lifting her head up, Val felt heat in her eyes and a wetness on her cheeks. She realised she'd been crying, and swiped the tears away with her jacket sleeves. She took one last deep breath in and out, before settling against the back of the sofa to wait.

Red’s screams had finally reduced to strained groans. Thank God, whatever they were doing must be coming to an end.

Val flinched as Blue suddenly appeared in the corner of her eye. She inched away, wary gaze trained on him as he approached. He didn’t even react as he leaned against the arm of the chair opposite her; arms folded, peering down at her.

Blue had a more mature, structured face, with olive-green skin and piercing amber eyes - similar to Red's. Around his waist sat a thick leather strap, and another that reached across his plastron and over his right shoulder. Attached to his shell(?) were twin swords, measuring about half the length of his body. Unlike Mikey's, his scales was peppered with scars of various shapes and sizes; the most distinct one extending across the top of his head and beneath his mask.

Blue silently scrutinised her a few moments, expression unreadable, before letting out a deep sigh and softening his posture. “Are you hurt?”

Val blinked. “W-what..?” She murmured.

He silently motioned to her chest area.

Confused, the woman looked down. “Oh,” she pulled at her blood-stained shirt and jacket. “I didn’t... this is his. Is he-”

“-He’ll be fine,” Blue answered curtly. Val compressed her lips, unsure whether to probe further. He must've noticed this as he elaborated. “He was jumped by some thugs.”

“The Purple-”

“-Dragons, yes.”

The Purple Dragons...

The hairs on the back of Val’s neck prickled. What were they doing here? Wasn’t Brooklyn their turf? Unless they extended their reach... Suddenly, the thought of forking out money for a 5-minute cab-ride home no longer sounded outrageous.

“Looks like I’ll be cabbin' it home from now on, heh...” she muttered, shifting nervously in her seat. Blue quirked a brow-ridge at that, but otherwise remained silent.

“It’s Valerie, isn’t it?” He finally asked.

“Hm? Oh, y-yeah, that’s right,” Val answered, just now remembering she'd already given them her name.

“I'm Leonardo,” he offered.

“Okay...” She was unsure what to make of this situation; his demeanour frequently shifted from cordial to borderline hostile, as though he were actively determining her status as a threat.

Leonardo opened his mouth to speak but promptly stopped himself. Another moment of silence. He stole a glance at the room his injured friend was in. “I, uh...” he returned his gaze to hers.

There was softness, and what looked to be a hint of pain in his eyes, as he continued. “I wanna thank you for what you did tonight, for my colleague. I doubt very much he'd have survived if you hadn’t intervened.”

At that, the woman's tense posture eased slightly, and she offered a small smile. “You’re welcome..."

Leonardo nodded, perhaps a little too long, as he stared forward. The pain had spread to his face. Val’s brows furrowed with concern, and she tilted her head in an attempt to regain eye contact with him.

As soon as he realised, he quickly cleared his throat and straightened up.

“I’m sure you can understand why I have to ask you to keep this – us – a secret.” He finally spoke; eyes narrowed, words sharp - resolute.

Back to business, then?

“I think so...” Val replied quietly. She was beginning to get whiplash from this emotional rollercoaster.

“My colleague did a reckless thing allowing himself to be seen by you – by everyone,” Leonardo sneered, almost to himself. Val stared at him, wondering whether he knew she and his ‘colleague’ had met before.

“We have enemies, which is why I need you to keep this to yourself. This isn’t just for our sake but yours as well. Anybody caught associating with us will become a target. Nobody can know...Please.”

“I promise.” Val could feel the dread creeping in on her again...

“Good,” Blue nodded, finally pushing himself away from the arm of the chair. He eyed her clothing once more. “We’ll take you to the bathroom, so you can wash up, then drop you home.”

“I can go home..?” A bewildered Val asked, as Blue passed to lead her to what she assumed would be the bathroom.

“Of course,” he replied matter-of-factly. “You aren’t a prisoner here.”

The woman suppressed a scoff as she pulled herself from the sofa to follow him. The bathroom wasn't too far from where they were sitting, about fifty- to one hundred feet. After following a long and narrow corridor, Leonardo paused beside a heavy swing door and motioned for her to enter.

Val acknowledged him as she pushed said door open, then promptly closed it behind her. She checked for a lock, but there was none. She realised why as she turned around; this was a communal bathroom.

Six cubicles, four sinks, no windows. It was relatively clean, save for a few scraps of paper towel on the floor and countertop. Two neutral-coloured bathmats hung over the first two cubicles. Upon inspection, Val found they'd been converted to showers, with several half-empty bottles of men’s shower gel perched atop the tiled ledge above where the toilets used to be. Three of four ceiling lights worked, while the other flickered eerily on and off.

Are we underground? It made the most sense. The sewer?

Sewers aren’t like this, are they? They don’t have these large, open spaces, let alone bathrooms. So, what else could it be? An old subway station?

Val spent several minutes attempting to clean the dried blood from her shirt. The jacket was a little easier - faux suede - but everything will need a thorough soaking when she returned home. 

At least I wasn’t wearing white this time, heh...

She washed her soiled hands thoroughly. After discarding all the used paper towel in the trash, the woman tugged her jacket around her body to cover the remaining stains, then made for the door.

Mikey, who was waiting at the entrance of the corridor, waved her over.

“Any luck?” He enquired, motioning to her clothing as she approached.

“What? Oh, this? It’ll be fine...” She found herself distracted by his demeanour. His restless hands and worried eyes betrayed the smile on his face. She could only imagine what more he'd seen and heard of his friend.

His friend...

“Can I see him..?”

Mikey’s mask finally slipped as he compressed his lips. He looked like he wanted to oblige, but something told her he wouldn't do so. “I wouldn’t,” he quietly answered. “He, uh... he needs his rest.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, and no.”

“What happened? What did they need to do?”

Mikey turned his gaze away from her, clearly uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry, I- you don’t have to answer...”

Val felt helpless. This man was there when she needed somebody, and she was too much of a fucking coward at the time to say ‘thank you’ to his face...

Just leave it alone.

This is not about you.

“I’ll be giving you that ride home, if that’s okay with you?” He wasn't asking permission, but he was still considering her feelings. She liked him the most, so far.

“Yeah, sure. Thank you..."

The drive was awkward, to say the least. Val sat in the front passenger seat this time, quietly directing Mikey where to go. Aside from the occasional grunt of acknowledgement, the terrapin kept his mouth shut and his eyes forward. She could hear him struggle to level his breathing, and his grip on the steering wheel was so tight his knuckles had turned white.

She regretted bringing up his friend. She understood all too well the pain they'd likely be in right now; to have been so close to losing someone they care about.

She hoped Red recovered quickly. Though she barely knew him, he seemed like the strong and resilient type.

"Just here, please," Val pointed to the dimly lit front entrance of her run-down apartment complex, and Mikey rolled the truck to a stop in front of it. Confident everything was accounted for, the woman slung her purse over her shoulder, opened the door, and stepped out.

As she turned to close the door, she noticed Mikey staring at her, conflicted.

"He'll be okay," she reassured gently. "Thank you for driving me home-"

"Raphael."

Val stopped the door mid-close.

"His name is Raphael," Mikey repeated. "Thank you for saving my brother..."

Val gawked at him. She couldn't believe it. She'd resigned herself to knowing nothing about the man who saved her life, but now she could finally put a name to the face and know that he has a family.

"I wouldn't call him that, though," the terrapin added, chuckling wistfully. "He hates it with a passion... Just call him Raph."

Raph. Suits him... Wait, what? 

He was speaking as though it were possible to see him again... could it?

As the woman attempted gathering her thoughts, Mikey reached into the centre console to retrieve a business card, handing it to her. "If you wanna get a hold of us, give this woman a call. Her name's April... I'll let her know she might expect a call from... Valerie, is it? Yeah, I'll let her know."

Val turned the card in her hands. "Why are you doing this for me..?" It seemed to her that they were incredibly private people, wary of outsiders. Why was he helping her get back in? And who was this April person? "I mean, of course, I'm grateful... But won't you get into trouble for this?"

Mikey shrugged his shoulders. "You seem like one of the good ones," he explained. "Besides, Raph's gonna wanna seek you out eventually - to thank you. I figured I'd do some of the work for him."

Val's heart skipped a beat. "Thank you, Mikey." At the mild surprise she'd elicited, she smiled, quipping gently, "I'm a good listener."

He smiled back.

With that, she finally closed the door, and the pimped-out garbage truck pulled off down the empty street.

Too tired to even think about having a shower at this point, the woman simply stripped down to her underwear and collapsed into bed.

---

Pain finally pulled Raph from his dreamless slumber.

One by one his senses returned to him. He felt a softness beneath him – a mattress, finally. The rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor, among other electrical noises, indicated that he was still in Donnie's lab. The intense smell of blood and antiseptic assaulted his nostrils. He attempted opening his eyes, but the harsh light above him forced them closed again. He tried shifting his body, but everything hurt.

Everything hurt like a bitch.

"Raph, hey-" He heard Donnie's voice from beside him as the problem light was removed. "Can you hear me?"

The injured terrapin opened his eyes, without resistance this time, but his vision was blurred. "I can hear ya, Don," he answered hoarsely. "But I can't see shit."

"Okay, well, that should clear itself up pretty quickly," Donnie reassured, as he rummaged through his tools. "I'm gonna check your pupil dilation. You could have a concussion."

The purple-banded terrapin clicked on a small torch and proceeded shining it in his brother's left eye. "Can you see that?" He enquired, wiggling the light slightly.

"I can see it," Raph grumbled. "I just can't see it clearly."

Donnie continued asking questions as he moved on to the right eye. "Are you experiencing any nausea or dizziness?"

"Dizziness, yeah."

"Does your head hurt?"

"Everything hurts, Don."

"Do you know where you are?"

"The Lair."

"What's your full name?"

"Are ya serious?"

"Just answer the question."

"...Hamato Raphael."

"Thank you. Do you remember what happened last night, before you lost consciousness?"

He remembered. He remembered vividly. "Yes..."

He'd gone out for some air.

He could understand, to an extent, Leo's change in personality after...everything. They all changed, in a way. But his eldest brother had become insufferable to be around. They'd finally developed a healthy friendship, but then...he just has not been the same since.

He'd become an invasive, controlling, manipulative person. A shadow of his former self. And Raph couldn't deal with it.

So, he left for a little while.

He took to alcohol to drown his feelings. It was by no means a healthy coping strategy, but it helped in the moment, and that was good enough for him.

He was about a third of the way through a bottle of rum when he heard a commotion inside the consignment store below. A loud crashing sound, then two gunshots rang out. Extortion job gone wrong, perhaps?

He'd dropped the bottle to descend the fire escape, then crouched down beside a large trash bin. Sai at the ready.

A single man burst out of the side entrance, sprinting down the alleyway in his direction. He barely made it ten feet before the red-banded terrapin jumped him, slamming him against the brick wall.

The young man's black hood flew off on impact, revealing the signature Purple Dragon tattoo curled around his throat. Raph didn't have a chance to react further, however, as he suddenly felt another presence with them...

Pop. 

He heard it before he felt it, but when he felt it, he felt all of it. It was as though his arm had been ripped from his shoulder. One of his Sai clanged to the ground. He released the first man to retrieve his second Sai. 

Pop. 

The next thing he knew, he and the second man were on the ground, and the first man disappeared.

He didn't know how long he'd been out for, but when he attempted to open his eyes, he couldn't see a thing. His face felt hot and sticky. His ears rang. He reached up to examine himself. Blood was everywhere.

Groaning in pain, the terrapin hauled himself to his feet. He did his best to clean his eyes with the tail of his bandana. The second man was dead, Sai protruding from his throat. The first man was, indeed, nowhere to be found.

Fuck, I'd made a real mess of this...

Nursing his injured arm, Raph staggered toward the body. Purple Motherfucker. He plucked away the Sai, then proceeded collecting the other.

He stumbled around topside for a while, trying to figure out the best course of action. Stupidly, he didn't think to bring his shell-cell, so he had no way of communicating with his brothers. If he acted quickly, he could've had the strength to open a manhole, but he didn't believe he had it in him to make it home in time. If he collapsed in the sewers, he would've been a sitting duck for ravenous rats. And he didn't feel like being eaten alive, so, he stayed.

Then she came.

In a city with a population of nearly 19 million people, she was the one who stumbled upon his stupid ass. She stayed to help even when he told her to leave...

She saved my life.

"Where is she?"

Donnie opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when Leo suddenly entered the room.

"Mikey drove her home."

He must've been eavesdropping on their conversation. His amber eyes pierced Raph's with a deep scowl, and Raph returned it in kind.

"So, let me get this straight..." Leo began as he stalked toward the bed. "You went out, alone, without any way of contacting us in case you got into trouble... You got drunk... You responded to a crime prematurely by not bothering to count how many perps were in the area, so they got the jump on you... You exposed us to a civilian... Did I miss anything?"

"Leo, this isn't the time-"

"No!" Leo snapped, jabbing a finger in Raph's direction. "You’re a sorry excuse for a ninja, if you can even call yourself one. I can't trust you not to get yourself or anyone else killed! You’re a liability! You've dishonoured me, and you've dishonoured Master Splinter-"

"Don't you dare!" Raph trembled with anger. Nothing hurt more than his heart right now. How dare he bring up their father in that way?!

"You need to leave, Leo." Donnie was between them now, attempting to force his eldest brother out the door. But he'd not finished.

"Listen to me, Raphael. If anything happens to us, or anyone else, because of your little stunt, it will be on you!"

"That's it. Get out, now!" After managing to push his brother all the way out of the door, Donnie slammed it in his face.

He and Raph were silent awhile, attempting to process what just transpired. Some words were said that could never be unsaid.

"Are you okay..?"

No response.

"I, uh... I'll go out and talk to him... He's probably just-"

"I don't care, Don," Raph interrupted, voice low and monotonous, barely acknowledging his brother. "Do what you want. I really don't care."

Donnie nodded sadly before slipping out, leaving Raph alone with his thoughts. As the door clicked closed, the injured terrapin's eyes grew hot with tears. He swiped them away.

No, don't you dare cry! 

Don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to you. Not now, not fucking ever!

...But he's right, though.

This whole thing could've been avoided if I'd just stayed home, or at the very least taken the shell-cell. How could I manage to screw up so fucking... FUCK!!!

Maybe I am a liability.

---

Masterlist / Chapter 3

[more-than-a-princess]

@psychcdelica​ asked:  How about [ catch ] for Sonia and Jubellian?

Random Acts of Kindness icebreakers - No Longer Accepting!

[ catch ]: the sender spots the receiver swaying as though they are about to faint or fall asleep on their feet, and grabs them before they can hit the floor.

Everything so far about the Ashet Empire, at least to Princess Sonia of Novoselic, was stifling. From the set of rooms she, her lady's maid, and her security retinue had taken up at the city's most elegant hotel to the dress she'd worn for the afternoon's occasion, some sort of knighting or medaling ceremony at the nation's palace, she felt terribly uncomfortable. Suffocated, even.

In her father's stead, she'd been sent to negotiate new treatises for both alliances in war and new trades, but surely, Sonia thought, this was something that could have been assigned to her uncle instead. Not that Sonia didn't enjoy the travel, but there had to be a reason that, upon checking in at the hotel, a list had been waiting for her in the small drawing room in her master suite: a carefully curated one, listing all of the Ashet Empire's current bachelors by family, net worth, properties, and other miscellaneous things, like their ages and a hobby or two. Sonia had groaned and immediately thrust it into a desk drawer, hoping that it would disappear on its own. The political nature of her visit, she was happy to attend to: but the underhanded reason the future monarch had been sent to work with the ambassador to the Ashet Empire made her feel queasy. Enough that she'd skipped breakfast that morning.

But now, as she stood in the grand throne room full of Ashet's royals and nobility, she rather wished she'd attempted something. Even a piece of toast, something that ensured she at least felt healthy and readied for the day ahead. Which she wasn't, not at least in the presence of so many whispers and the fact that the ambassador had gone off in search of a Viscount he was keen to introduce to the Novoselic Crown Princess. After all, she hadn't been allowed to accept a single invitation to stay at anyone's estates, whether it be their city dwellings or a vast country manor. Even evening soirees were to be carefully pruned over in order to discern if it was worthy of her time, done by people who apparently knew her better than she did herself. Resisting every urge to chew the inside of her mouth as she tried her best to ignore the murmurs around her, she cast a hopeful glance towards the royal family: the Emperor and Empress looked rather smug or cross all the time, both during her earlier, private introduction to them and now as the man reached for an array of medals to award to those who provided great service to the Empire. She'd yet to meet the Prince and Princess, but the former seemed to be searching the crowd for something, or someone, and the latter wore an expression that looked like she constantly smelled something foul and wished she could make a hasty departure.

It was easier, Sonia thought, when at least the princes and princesses were amiable. Even if they weren't to become the best of friends, it did make negotiations, much less all of the various balls, garden parties, teas, and other elegant events, more bearable. But instead, she would need to wait until the end of the ceremony for further introductions and, with the combination of her dress laced far tighter than she would've liked and an empty stomach, she was becoming increasingly more doubtful by the minute that she'd be able to retain her composure. Between the rumbling in her belly, her headache, and her fraying nerves, Sonia gasped gently as she felt herself sway in her thick layers of petticoats and heels. Oh dear God...I'm going to collapse in front of the entire Ashet Court! She inwardly screamed, and her family's own knights were standing much too far away to assist her in time and-

She felt a pair of hands close over her upper arms. Just as she was sure she would hit the marble floor, bottom first, a pair of slender hands had reached for her. Pale, Sonia could tell through her bleary, hungry haze, and soft in the way hers were: the skin of a young woman who did not perform much in the way of menial labor. Likely a member of the court, which was now even more embarrassing for the visiting princess if she'd made a spectacle of someone she was supposed to get along with. "Goodness, I am so sorry!" She immediately apologized. At least she'd been gifted with an intermission in the ceremony so the Emperor and Empress could be refreshed. Turning quickly, though a bit wobbly on unsteady legs, Sonia caught sight of the young woman she'd nearly fallen on. Close to her in age, with long, silver hair and silver-blue eyes. She seemed kind, or at least she didn't seem too terribly interested in the gossip like the rest of the attendees. "Are you all right? It is terribly inappropriate for me to lose my posture like that. Please do tell me how I may make amends." 

Of all the times for the Ashet Ambassador to wander off: he could've at least told her the young woman's name and title, so she could address her with the proper etiquette she deserved. Sighing, the best Sonia could do right then was will the pink color to fade from her cheeks, smooth over her skirt, and do her best to ignore the pounding in her head that would only be solved with good food, some rest, and some time away from the tittering crowds.

[bestjeanistmonster]

…Okay so in my superhero au (vigilante Zeldris basically) I was planning on redeeming Meliodas at some point in this au but I’ve decided to listen to my heart and make it unnecessarily angsty, just as the universe intended.

This…was way longer than intended lol

Zeldris and Estarossa (when he defects from DK of course) with the help of Elizabeth and the archangels plot to take down Meliodas and the last of the commandments as a stage in their plan to defeat the demon king.

It was a shaky truce and they were all very much aware that Ludociel was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to arrest Zel and Esta when all of this was over meanwhile Zeldris was reluctantly trying to persuade his brother to not to kill the archangels.

Unfortunately their older brother has been becoming more unstable over time as his memories fully corrode.

He doesn’t remember events or even people correctly, his childhood memories are basically overridden by trauma and horrible things that didn’t even happen. This would make him even less likely to hold back against them cuz they have no idea how twisted his memories of them are.

After they somehow get the high amounts of fragments serum out of his system, Meliodas’s emotions are abruptly returned, and then the impact of all the trauma, all the uncontrollable rage, sadness and despair that was sealed away and repressed crash down on him all at once.

That combined with his corroded memories made the one strand of sanity Meliodas had left snap.

He went fucking ballistic.

Meliodas powers go berserk, erupting waves of darkness destroying everything in sight, as he screamed at the sky in anger and pain. He clutches his head tightly as he falls to his knees shaking, his head feeling like it’s being split apart

The archangels would try to kill him and Elizabeth would try to reach him but they’re blocked off, Estarossa and Zeldris are the only ones close enough to reach him. They approached their brother quickly with the darkness erupting from Mel’s body doing what it can to stop him in their path.

“MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP!!!!” Meliodas screamed banging his head with his fist in his crouched position on the floor, his body was engulfed in darkness. It was all just-just too much, all he could feel was- he didn’t even know he feeling but it-it was too fucking much.

He hadn’t felt anything in so long that he’s forgotten what feeling even felt like.

It was horrible

“MELIODAS!” Estarossa called out as Zeldris tightened his shaky grip on his sword.

He was prepared to do whatever it took to defeat the demon king even if it meant…putting his own brother down, now wasn’t the time to second guess himself. But seeing him like this, so overwhelmed by his own pain, pain that he never even got to feel for more than a decade, it was…harder than Zeldris would like to admit.

Anyway they do battle but nothing seems to be working, luckily Gowther is also there with a solution to their problem.

“Gowther are you…sure there isn’t any other way?”

“Other than eliminating him, this is the only way that’ll stop his rampage from continuing and stop the amount of energy he’s producing from destroying the city and killing all of its citizens, all you need to is distract him.”

“…okay.”

“Okay?!” Estarossa yelled incredulously, “that is the opposite of okay, he’s our brother if you do this we’ll lose him, this time for goo-“

“We already lost him!!!” Zeldris snapped, “We. Have. Already. Lost. Him. we lost him a long long time ago Estarossa, and he is never coming back so it’s time you just accept it!”

“Ze-Executioner please-“

“Gowther what do you need us to do.” Estarossa scowled as he watched Zeldris ignore him.

A few minutes later~

“Meliodas!!” The villain froze, slowly looking up at his little brother, standing opposite him, sword in hand.

Zeldris inwardly shuddered at the look in his brother’s eyes, it reminded him of a caged wild animal, which in a way, Meliodas always was for his entire life.

…just like Zeldris had been.

Anyway they do battle which is essentially Zeldris trying to get close enough to do some damage, but Meliodas darkness keeps him away before he could even land a proper hit. It was clear as it continued his condition slowly getting worse, the darkness starting to swirl around his brother’s skin as even the whites of his eyes turned black.

Zeldris manages to get behind him and get close enough that he’s basically standing over him with his sword. Seizing the opportunity he raises his arm to make the final blow until-

“…Kill me…”, …what did he just say?

“Somebody…anybody…KILL ME PLEASE!!!!”

All of sudden the power surge increased as Meliodas screamed out cracking the ground of the battlefield and bringing everyone to their knees at the power.

Then, on pure instinct, Zeldris crawled towards his brother and hugged his back.

Almost instantly the surges stopped and the darkness receded as the blonde was shocked out of his rampage and mental struggle. Gasping, Meliodas’s eye colour flickered for a moment between black and green before settling on dark green

The two were now sitting in a large crater surrounded by ruins of evacuated buildings.

Meliodas looked around in a daze, “W-what just-“

Zeldris wasted no time shoving him to the ground, using his darkness to bind his brother in place. Meliodas’s stunned expression turned into a harsh glare that mirrored the vigilante’s perfectly, before it faltered and he sighed looking away.

“…what’re you waiting for…kill me.”

“…Melio-“

Meliodas growled at Zeldris from his bindings, “Kill me! I can’t take it anymore, ple-ase!”

His voice broke at the end. The vigilante was speechless, studying the older blondes face, looking into his brother’s black eyes, eyes that seemed shattered in a way. They seemed to be burning into him with frustration and desperation, pleading for him to just end it.

To end him.

To end the pain.

Zeldris steeled his nerve and gritted his teeth, “No, I’m not going to kill you.”

A small scream came from the back of Mel’s throat, as he choked on tears. Then Meliodas starts screaming at him to kill him cuz he’d rather die than feeling like this, feeling at all, every day for the rest of his life.

It was clear that his memories were still corroded and fucked up.

Seeing that his younger brother wasn’t going to remove him from this nightmare, Meliodas’s eyes turned black once more as his hand covered itself in darkness in the shape of a knife. He slashed open his bonds and went to stab himself in the chest, only to be stopped by Estrarossa grabbing his arms and holding him hostage.

Meliodas screamed bloody murder as he thrashed in Esta’s grasp until he froze and slumped over unconscious with a glowing pink ray of light sticking out of his neck.

Behind them stood Gowther, his hand glowing.

This was all part of the first phase of the plan the doll had in mind: Zeldris would distract Meliodas and bind him in darkness, Estarossa would hold him down and then Gowther would knock him out cold.

Now came…the second phase. Basically the plan was to first fix all the memories that were corroded and then completely rewrite them. This was the best option they had short of eliminating him and if they imprisonment him, he’ll eventually escape and become worse.

Meliodas won’t remember having powers, the experimentations, being a supervillain, DK, he won’t even remember having brothers.

It would be like none of it ever happened.

He’ll just be a ordinary guy, living an ordinary life, the life he never got to have.

The two brothers watched Gowther touch Meliodas forehead, “Rewrite Light!” The doll sat there in silence as Meliodas’s head was surrounded by pink light.

“I don’t like this.”

“What do you want then, for him to be locked away by heroes?”

“What I want is to have my older brother back.”

Zeldris sighed tiredly, favouring his left arm, it had gotten severely injured in the battle, “we can’t get the Meliodas we had when we were kids back, you know that.”

“But, what if-“

“No Esta, you can’t keep clinging to past, even if there’s a chance, a small minuscule chance that he’s still in there, would you really want him to suffer like this for the rest of his life?”

“…”

“…”

“…I’ll miss him.”

“…I know.”

“…I-I wish I could’ve said goodbye before-well, you know.”

“Yeah that…would’ve been nice…”

“What about you? Will you miss him?”

“I…don’t know.”

They continued to sit in silence as Gowther worked until the doll stood up and gave them a thumbs up. “It took a while longer than I thought, but it’s all done now.”

“Woo.” Estarossa sarcastically cheered.

“Executioner, are we ready to start the next phase?” The taller man furrowed his brows in confusion as he looked down at his baby brother. “Next phase? Zel what is he talking about?”

Zeldris didn’t look at him, he stood there. “Zeldris?”

He then nodded at Gowther, “Do it.”

The surrounding archangels, Elizabeth, SD, DK, the commandments, everyone who had ever known or heard of Meliodas the commandment of love passed out, their memories being rewritten to suit the web Gowther had crafted.

Rewritten to be friends, lovers, associates, enemies or to just erase Meliodas’s existence entirely.

After explaining this to Estarossa he was frozen, “so we-we’ll be the only people who-“

“Still remember him, yeah…”

Gowther turned to Zeldris, “are you sure you wouldn’t want to forget him as well? The path your choosing will be painful for you.”

“Yes,” Zeldris said with certainty, despite what he may feel about him, whatever resentment he still had for his older brother, he helped him be the person he was today, and though he’d loathe to admit it, he just couldn’t imagine what life would’ve been like without Meliodas, how he would’ve turned out.

He wanted to look back at the pain they went through and learn from it, Zeldris didn’t want to forget part of it to lessen the hurt, no matter how tempting it may be.

Of course he specified that Gelda, Elaine and Arthur would remember everything as well along with him and Estarossa cuz it would be torture if it was just Zel and his brother that remembered.

Then it was done.

The news reports called the destruction of that part of the city a mystery caused by some unknown supervillain and it was now closed for construction.

No heroes had any leads on the incident either and barely managed to save face.

3 weeks later Zeldris and Estarossa hadn’t seen any sign of Meliodas since then, Gowther had taken him somewhere where his new life could properly start and he didn’t give them any hints of where that could be.

Although Zeldris got an idea of where when he saw his brother across the street from him, walking a large dog while exchanging banter with taller girl (well taller when compared to him) with pigtails.

It wasn’t just weird to see his brother with sea glass green eyes Zel hasn’t seen since he was little kid, but to see them filled with warmth and life, seeing him smile and laugh without a care in the world. For most of his life he’d seen his brother as the most frightening villain alive, a merciless killer who didn’t care who he had to get rid of to follow their father’s orders.

But now he was just…a guy, a guy who had a playful dog, friends, a life, it was nice to see but it also made him feel a bit sick.

Gowther was right, though this seemed to be the most concrete solution, it was also the most cruel to everyone involved, but it was a different pain altogether for those who still remembered.

That guy was the one who used to tuck him in at night, cooked him and Esta meals that were horrible but he tried his best to make sure they were fed, gave Esta piggyback rides and pretended to be a plane so that so that his brother could be a pilot, defended them from their fathers wrath and took most of the damage.

Meliodas was their older brother and he doesn’t know who they are, doesn’t even know they exist…

…and god does he look so fucking happy.

[chil2de]

Hi!! if possible can i please request yuuta having a girlfriend that’s his childhood friend? (So like instead of rika it’s y/n and she doesn’t die) that loves to dote on him cause that boy needs some love. Thank you!! <3

PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE THIS MADE ME SO SOFT!!!!! ohmygod!!!! growing up with yuuta would be THE best onshdhfsh thank you sososos much anon this was such a pleasure to write! i don’t know why but the “and she doesn’t die” had me screaming LMFAOOOO

enjoy! no warnings, just old fashioned cute fluff and heart wrenching moments! thank you for giving me the opportunity to write for the best boy mwaaah you deserve eternal happiness! hope no insects bite you during these warm months <3

“okkotsu!” you cried out, feminine and shrill voice ringing in the air. the cicadas chirped melodiously, calling out their delightful songs in the spring air.

the young boy staggered around, losing his balance from spinning too fast. his fragile hands reached out, pulling in small grabby motions towards your innocent and joyous face.

you were always so optimistic, even when you were younger. yuuta could only huff and wail as his caretaker hauled him away from the playground, gesturing it was time for him to come home. thick and messy tears spilled out the corners of his eyes which hadn’t yet endured countless sleep devoid nights.

he was so far away, but that was okay because you knew you’d see him the very next day.

“okkotsu! promise to play with me again tomorrow!” you cupped your hands, exclaiming as much as your little lungs could endure. yuuta could see the tears heavy in your gaze, but even then, you prevailed. you grinned, all for him.

ever since the very start. till ‘death do us apart.

-

“okkotsu! come oooon, don’t cry, okay? (y/n)’s got your back! see, see?! look! they don’t bite!” you braved a smirk on your features, beckoning the shy and introverted young man over. his face looked uncertain and his lips wobbled as though he could crack at any moment. he took a few cautious steps, maintaining his distance between you and the furry animal on the floor.

“r-really? it won’t bite?” he coughed, reaching his unstable fingertips out.

“eh?! that’s the first time you’ve spoken to me! your voice is so nice! it’s so cool! hey! can i hear it again? pleaaaase? i know you’re shy but i’d really like to hear it! hey, okkotsu, say my name? pretty please?”

“um- i, uh.. it’s okay.. you can call me yuuta.”

-

“yuuta! you’re going to be late for your first day of junior high! i totally told you to wake up on time too!” you stood with your hands rested firmly on your hips, face stern and tone impatient.

“sorry! sorry- it’s um, my hair. i don’t know how to style it.” he admitted, albeit sheepishly by trailing the last few words off into a murmur. you only gave him a sigh before kneeling down behind him, propping yourself up to take a look at his hair in the reflection of the mirror.

“how on earth are you so tall already? we eat the same food, you know. slouch over a little.” you pinched his cheeks before glossing over his hair.

when you ran your fingertips through his hair, you felt butterflies and anxiety rock your stomach.

that’s never been there before.

you’ve touched yuuta countless times, whether that was accidentally hitting him, holding his hand to cross the street…

so why was it different?

you could feel yuuta’s body tense up and run rigid underneath your touch.

that definitely wasn’t there before.

“relax. it’s me.” you cooed quietly, roughing up his hair into different styles.

“like this? looks like you just woke up, sorta, but i think it’s cute.”

yuuta’s heart rate skyrocketed through the roof and his breath hitched.

“cute?” he reiterated, chewing out the phrase like he’d never heard it before in his life.

“hm? yeah-“

you caught his gaze in the mirror, eyes half lidded and attention averted. the tips of his ears were tainted a deep red with small flicks of blush painting his cheeks.

“eh?! nononono- not like that i’m- i just think it suits you, you know? oh, crap, would you look at the time? okay we gotta go and leave!” you clambered out of his bedroom, thudding the door shut behind you.

yuuta only gawked at you with bewilderment, lips slightly parted and fingertips outstretched in his failed attempt to stop you.

he turned to himself in the mirror, studying his features before running one hand through his jet black locks.

“cute, huh?” he muttered, avoiding his own judgemental gaze.

-

the bittersweet part about growing up with a childhood friend is change.

for all the time that you’d spent with yuuta, you didn’t realise that your relationship with him was something to not take for granted.

especially with those around you who would kill for what you two have.

you’d always get mundane questions from high school girls who thought they could have a shot with him, “what’s his type?” “do you think he likes me?”

meanwhile you only played along with their charades, laughing inwardly when he was actually extremely introverted.

“so? what’s the deal with you and okkotsu-san? you guys dating?”

“no. we’re just friends.”

“seriously? you guys are always glued at the hip. you know he has a picture of you in his locker, right?”

“yeah? so do i. it doesn’t mean anything.”

“it’s kind of a shame, he’s such a nice young man.. gone to waste like that..”

“what’s gone to waste?” yuuta inquired with an indifferent tone, plopping down beside you with his bento box. the classmate sat opposite you only gave him a phony cheerful temperament, twirling her index finger around her hair.

“oh! okkotsu-senpai! we were just talking about you! how was your da-“

“please leave.”

you could only gape at him in your peripherals, sputtering on your sandwich as you watched the life drain from your classmate at his monotony. yuuta didn’t spare you or the girl a glance as he worked to unpack his lunch, hell the guy even murmured a small itadakimasu as if nothing happened.

“wh- okkotsu senpai?”

“listen.” he let out a deep sigh before proceeding.

“whatever shot you thought you had with me? it’s gone out the window. don’t disrespect (y/n) in front of me like that again.”

“you’re making us uncomfortable, so get up and go.” he motioned with his chopsticks, giving her a dead gaze towards another table.

the girl scoffed, mouth hung wide open as she picked up her bag and stormed out of sight.

whilst your face was as blank as a stone, internally, you were only screaming in the depths of piping hot hell visible from the sun itself.

baby girl? that was when you noticed how fucking fine of a man yuuta grew up to be.

“that was seriously nerve wracking.. my stomach hurts so bad right now” yuuta coughed through a bite of his sandwich, refusing to meet your gaze.

you slapped his back, because, holy shit??? awe painted your face like you just witnessed your own child talking or walking for the first time.

“what the shit? yuuta? are you kidding?”

“oh, huh? did i overdo it or something?“

“no?! are you kidding? that was fucking awesome! i swear! this is why i love you-“

oh.

uh oh.

oh no.

yuuta let out a shrill squeak unbeknownst to any human being able to produce such a volume. it was a cross between a floorboard creaking, a mouse sniffing and him choking on his food. the poor boy had to excuse himself to the bathroom, hacking and sniffling in an ugly fit of coughs from the food that got caught in his windpipe.

your blood rushed to your head, veins lit ablaze, bones rattling as you could hear the chatter pound and drill into your skull, scoring you deep and down into your bones.

“did she just say she loves him?”

“i totally knew they were going out!”

“i can’t believe it…”

“do you think he’ll reject her?”

it replayed over, and over, and over. what a fucking fool you felt. did he even feel the same?

that’s why i love you.

i love you.

i love you.

a blob of black clouded your vision and you could hear the glass breaking.

yuuta sat himself back down, excusing himself.

you could hear nothing but the tune of his heartbeat. or was it yours? it sounded too heavy to belong in either of your bodies.

his voice came as a wobble because of his anxiety, but this was the one thing in his life he’d be absolutely certain of.

“that’s okay. i love you too.”

-

“yuuta? you okay? you’ve been spacing out for at least five minutes. something on your mind?” you lightly shake your boyfriend, grip reassuring but firm. it takes a couple of seconds for his gaze to gloss over as he returns back to reality.

“sorry. was just thinking about our childhood, that’s all.” his voice comes out deep and masculine. it doesn’t have that tremor as it used to before, like he’d break down at any minute.

you can say with absolute certainty as you stare up your entire 5’10 boyfriend that he’s matured well.

his hand snakes around to your waist, pulling you into him for comfort.

some ways better than others, you suppose.

“can we stay home today?” he hums, resting his chin on top of your head,

“same as ever, yuuta, aren’t you? it’s fine, i’ll tell nobara my period’s making me act up. she’ll understand-“

“hm? you’re not due for another week though, right?”

you crease your eyebrows as you type out an apology to nobara for cancelling plans, glancing up at yuuta curiously.

“how the heck do you know that?”

“i’m not supposed to? i’d always count your cycle so i wouldn’t irritate you on the wrong day. besides, don’t you think it was too convenient for you to always find snacks in your locker when it rolled around?”

“those snacks were you?! oh my god! i was trying to figure that out for forever!”

“i know. i remember you ranting to me about it.”

“you just sat there?! yuuta! you’re so cheeky sometimes, i swear!”

“only for you.” he chimes, peppering a soft kiss onto your head. you smile against him, though unfortunately pry out of his familiar and welcoming touch.

“i’m gonna step out for a second tho, ‘kay? i think that’s itadori at the door with my chocolate and painkillers” you snort, giving yuuta a bold wink as you put on your best act, keeling over and clutching at your abdomen as though you’re on death’s door.

“you’re awful.” yuuta chuckles, slumping down onto the sofa to hear the events unfold right in front of him.

you clear your throat and slouch your shoulders as you pry the apartment door open.

“(y/n)-senpai! i came as fast as i could and i brought you some of your favourite sna- oh, okkotsu-senpai! hello!”

“hi there.” he leans his head back, giving itadori a small wave.

“i won’t interrupt you guys so get well soon! and fast! cause i wanna hang out with you! bye!”

you cradle the necessities itadori brought whilst gleaming at yuuta with a wicked grin plastered on your face from ear to ear.

“you want anything?” you cock an eyebrow, showing him the arrangement of snacks.

it’s not the answer you were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t unwelcome. it made you feel warm inside, like eating warm and soothing soup on a cold winter’s day. this, for you, was okkotsu yuuta at his best, stripped clean and vulnerable.

you’re the only one who he can relax around, act like the world is carefree. like he’s young again, prancing around in that dingy colourful playground he met you at.

“i want you to kiss me.”

[reciprocityfic]

#10 for Amy/Laurie

10. an alternate ending to an episode or scene.

“Can you unbutton me, please?”

He gets up slowly, takes one step and then another as she turns her back to him. He’s in a mood all of a sudden; something about the seriousness of her speech about marriage coupled with the fact that she’s leaving him - to go spend time with Fred Vaughn, nonetheless - has put a heaviness in his heart. He doesn’t want her to leave him. In fact, he can think of nothing he’d love more than to spend this afternoon with her in her studio, talking about nothing and everything with her, watching her as she paints.

He reaches out with steady fingers to the buttons of her apron. He’s practiced at this, at undoing the back of a woman’s dress, except usually the context is quite different; usually he’s hurried and at least a bit drunk, desperate for the women in front of him, even more desperate to forget about everything for a little while.

This is different; this is slow and quiet and shouldn’t be anything but innocent, but there’s something about it, a certain edge to the air. He looks up at her from under his eyelashes, looks at the pale skin of her neck, her golden hair. She’s beautiful; he’s never registered before how absolutely beautiful she is.

And it shouldn’t be anything but innocent, but suddenly the room feels too hot and he’s having trouble swallowing. It’s wrong. It’s so wrong, isn’t it? She’s Jo’s sister, for God’s sake - little Amy March.

Except she’s not little, not anymore. She’s grown, and elegant, and so, so beautiful, and he likes her so much. He doesn’t want her to leave. He doesn’t want her to marry Fred Vaughn.

He undos the last button, unties her bow, but doesn’t let go. She goes to walk away, oblivious to the crisis he’s having behind her, but is stopped by his grip on the ties of her apron.

“Laurie?” she asks, her voice laced with confusion.

She smells incredible; he can detect hints of lavender, vanilla, and something he can’t quite place. It’s lovely, and before he can stop himself or think, he steps closer to her, buries his nose in her hair and inhales deeply.

He feels her stiffen just slightly, and she says his name, but he barely notices because he’s intoxicated by her. She’s there, she’s right there. He can feel the warmth coming off her body, and he can’t help himself. He bends his head down, gently presses his lips against the nape of her neck.

A moment passes, and then she turns, using enough strength this time that she pulls the apron ties from his hands. He curses inwardly - he’s ruined everything, most likely. Surely, she’ll scold him, scurry off to Fred, and never want to see him again.

But she only stares at him, eyes wide, cheeks flushed, shoulders moving up and down with each of her deep breaths. He stares back; it’s taking everything he has to stop himself from rushing towards her, wrapping her up in his arms and devouring her.

“Fr -”, she begins, but her voice breaks, and she clears her throat. “Fred is here.”

He keeps his mouth shut. He has no nice words to spare for Fred Vaughn, not right now. He lets his gaze travel down her body, licks his lips - he’s made his intentions clear. It’s up to her, now, to decide what she wants.

It seems like it takes her ages to speak; he feels like his entire life hinges on her next words.

“I...I could tell him I’m ill.”

He can’t help the smile that begins to turn up the corners of his mouth, and he quickly swallows, trying to compose himself even a little. He nods at her, and then she’s off, taking off her apron and hanging it by the door. He watches her through the window as she greets Fred, his fists clenching when the man presses a kiss to her cheek.

It takes a few minutes for him to actually leave (Fred Vaughn has always been too long-winded for his own good), but finally the man gets back into his carriage and leaves. She stays outside until the man is gone, and he watches her take a deep breath before she turns and walks back inside.

She closes the door behind her, and looks at him.

They stare each other down, the air between them thick with the tension of anticipation. The base of his spine tingles as he watches her eyes trail down his body, and if she doesn’t do something soon, he might scream. He just needs one more confirmation - one more assurance that she wants this as much as he does.

“Laurie,” she whispers. Her voice is breathless, but there’s an edge to it, one ripe with restrained excitement.

It prompts him to move, and in one second he’s on her, grabbing her face with both of his hands and pressing his lips to hers. She lets out a gasp that turns into the most delicious whimper when he pries her mouth open with his tongue. She’s hesitant at first, but soon melts into him, catching on to kissing him in record time. She’s always been a diligent student, and this is one thing he’s eager to teach her.

There’s so much he can show her, so much he’s going to show her - him, and only him. She’s his now, as long as she’ll allow it. No one else can have her, ever.

Her hands are all over him, roaming over his chest, pulling at his collar. Finally, they find their way to his hair. Her fingers tangle in the strands, grab and tug, hard. He moans into her mouth, and he can feel her smile against him. It makes his cock ache, and they’ve only just begun.

They need some sort of surface, something to steady themselves, and he backs her up until her back hits the wall of her studio with a thud. He spreads his legs apart as best he can with his foot, and presses himself between her legs; even through all her skirts, he can feel how warm she is, can only imagine how wet she is. The thought makes him groan again, deep in his throat, and he presses himself more firmly against her. She gasps, and throws her head back; he’s sure she can feel him, hard and insistent in his pants.

He takes the opportunity to kiss down her chin, along her jaw, until finally his lips land on her neck. He wraps one arm around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer to him, and uses the other to brace himself against the wall. He kisses her skin, nips and then licks. He can’t leave a mark, he knows, especially against her pale skin. He wants to, desperately. There’s so much he wants. He wants to undress her slowly, lay her out bare before him, wants to kiss every inch of body, wants to bury his face between her legs and feast on her until she screams his name as she comes.

Another time, he tells himself. For now, he’s more than content with what he has.

What he has is her in his arms, chest heaving and moans falling from her lips, hands splayed across his back, squirming against him. What he has is Amy, Amy March, his Amy, no one else’s, Amy, Amy, Amy.

“Laurie,” she breathes, as he bites at the spot between her neck and shoulder, and the sound of her saying his name like that makes his cock twitch. He bites her again, harder this time.

“Laurie,” she moans, reaching one of her arms out to try and grab onto something. She knocks something off a shelf beside them, and it clatters to the ground. The noise doesn’t make him pause in the slightest; the world could be falling apart around them and he wouldn’t stop. Not as long as she kept keening his name the way she is.

Laurie, Laurie, Laurie, Laurie.

Her blouse is mercifully thin today, and he removes his hand from her waist, walks it up her ribs until he’s teasing the tops of her breasts that spill just slightly over the top of her corset. He hates corsets; he’s always hated them, and he’s never hated them more than he does right now. He makes a silent pledge to destroy every single one of hers as soon as he can.

“Laurie,” she says again, but this time, her voice is lower and purposeful. It’s meant to pull him out of the Amy-induced stupor he’s in, but before he can respond, she brings her hands to his face and pulls him from her neck so that she can look him in the eyes.

“Laurie,” she murmurs.

He’s almost afraid that she’s going to tell him to stop; she’s the more sensible one between the two of them, after all. But her green eyes are shining, her pupils are blown, her skin is flushed, her hair is mussed, and a small smile plays on her lips. He’s never seen anything as beautiful as she is now, in this moment.

He can’t do anything but marvel at her. There’s a confidence about her now - she knows what she’s doing, is aware of the effect that she has on him. He can see that she loves it, that she wants him with everything she is, and it’s so profoundly erotic that he almost comes untouched, right there in front of her.

She stands up on her tiptoes and gives him a soft, lingering kiss before pulling away, nipping his bottom lip as she does.

“Amy,” he almost growls, his voice gruff. Her smile grows.

She moves her hands to his abdomen, lets her fingers fiddle with the top button on his waistcoat. She waits for his permission, just in case.

He leans down, whispers in her ear, “Can you unbutton me, please?”

He pulls back, watches her expression light up with joy and longing. She takes a deep breath, stares at him a moment longer.

This is it. This is the beginning of everything, he wants to tell her.

Her fingers are the slightest bit unsteady as they undo his first button, the only thing belying her nervousness. He kisses her forehead, sweetly and gently, in an attempt to soothe her.

She’s on the fourth and final button when they both hear a noise. This one, they can’t ignore.

“Amy? What’s going on in there? What’s all that ruckus?”

Aunt March. The one variable they hadn’t accounted for.

They jump apart, Amy quickly getting in front of him and attempting to smooth her clothes and hair. He rushes to refasten his waistcoat. He’s just closed the last button when the old woman enters the studio.

“Amy, I just saw Fred Vaughn…”

Aunt March stops when she sees that Laurie is standing there behind Amy.

“What is he doing here?”

He can’t help the smile that appears on his face.

“Hello to you as well, Aunt March.”

“He just stopped by for a visit a little while ago,” Amy explains, not turning to face him. She sounds remarkably normal for what just transpired between them. He can detect the tiniest quiver to her voice, but he’s confident it will go unnoticed by the old woman.

“Hm.”

Aunt March looks between the two of them. He prays she doesn’t notice anything; the woman has always been more astute than he gives her credit for.

“Amy,” she repeats after a moment, “I just saw Fred Vaughn leaving, alone. Whatever is the reason for this?”

“Oh, yes. Well, I’ve been feeling rather...rather sick, actually. So I sent him away, and promised I’d send for him as soon as I could. I thought it would be better if I stayed in to rest this afternoon.”

“Then what is he doing here, still?” Aunt March asks, motioning to Laurie again with the glasses she has in her hand.

“Oh, uh…”

“I was just leaving, actually,” Laurie assures her.

The woman looks between the two of them again, and he resists the urge to shift nervously. Yes, Aunt March is very astute.

“I suppose you do look slightly flushed,” Aunt March says finally, and he notices Amy’s shoulders relax slightly out of the corner of his eye. “Do you feel feverish?”

“Just a little lightheaded,” Amy tells her.

“Well, you heard her. Leave, Theodore. The young woman needs to rest.”

“Yes, Aunt March,” he says quickly, moving from behind Amy and heading towards the door. He feels Amy follow him.

“What are you doing, Amy March? You need to rest.”

“I’m just telling Laurie goodbye, Aunt March.”

“Be quick!”

He opens the door, then turns around. She’s standing in front of him, skin still pink, hair still slightly out of place. If he looks closely, he can see the tiniest red mark just above the collar of her blouse, and something quite like pride swells in his chest.

He wants to kiss her more than anything, but he presses his lips to her cheek instead.

“Don’t kiss her, boy!” Aunt March scolds from behind them. “You’ll catch what she has!”

“Get rid of Fred Vaughn,” he whispers in her ear. He leans back, presses his lips against her other cheek. “You’re mine now.”

“As you wish, my lord,” she whispers back.

He pulls away, looks at her once more, sees the most brilliant smile on her face. He doesn’t want to leave her - never wants to leave her, ever again - but for now, he must.

So he turns away, begins to walk across the grass, whistling as he does. And he knows he won’t forget her last beautiful grin for as long as he lives.

send me a number and a pairing (preferably laurie x amy) and i'll write you a mini fic!

[secretlittl3whore]

Not a Nightmare

Summary: You’re reminiscing over the last year when you hear Bucky having a dream in the other room, but it’s not the kind of dream you were expecting.

Pairing: Reader x Bucky Barnes

Warnings: smut! Unprotected sex (don’t be silly, wrap your Willy). A little angsty first. Swear words. 18+ y’all please!

Enjoy my sweet nymphs. As always, you can request ;)

——

His nightmares kept him up most nights. It had been that way since i had connected with him in South America. He wasn’t the Winter Soldier anymore, he really didn’t even know who he was, except what he could glean from the Captain America exhibit and from what I could share of what Steve had told me. Part of me wondered if I made the right decision to follow him instead of returning to America, but when he recognized me and in the two weeks I was down there, attempted multiple interactions with me, I couldn’t deny him when he asked me to stay. I wish I understood why he asked.

Now here we are in Bucharest. Times are calmer for him, but the nightmares...they’re worse than anything I expected. Sometimes, he will awake screaming at night. Others he’s trying to fight some imaginary enemy and doesn’t wake till he’s forced. On occasion, I have been the victim of a night terror. His vibranium arm crushing my throat or him slamming me into the floor. Bucky always felt like shit afterwards, no matter what I said. At one point he tried to kick me out of his apartment and his life, saying he was too dangerous for me. I sat outside the door for six hours, listening to him cry. When I finally had knocked, he practically ripped the door of the hinges to grab me back in. He dropped to his knees that day, his arms wrapped around me as he buried his tear covered face against my stomach. It broke me to see him in such a vulnerable position. I remember running my hands through his hair for what seemed like forever until his grip around me loosened and his arms fell limply to his sides.

“Why did you stay? After, after all I’ve done?” His voice broke, as more tears slid down his face. My own eyes welled with tears as I kneeled in front of him. Slowly and gently, I took him in my arms, pulling him against me. Bucky tensed for a minute, but then slowly wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck. I went back to running my fingers in his hair, contemplating my response.

“Because I want to be here for you. In every way possible.” A silent sob racked his body and I felt more of his weight on me as he crumpled. Bucky laid his head in my lap and brought his flesh hand to rest on my hip. He kept his vibranium on the floor, away, fear radiating from the way he curled it away from me. “Give me your hand Bucky.” He raised his head off my lap with wide open eyes.

“But...” he started to protest, but i shushed him, placing my finger on his lips.

“I’m here for you in every way.” I emphasized the last two words with a small smile. I wasn’t afraid of him and I certainly wasn’t afraid of his arm. “That means,” I reached for his hand and took the cool metal fingers within mine, “you don’t have To worry about keeping yourself from me.” Reluctantly he allowed me to bring his arm up to my lips. I knew he couldn’t feel it, but I kissed his had, listening to the soft whirs and enjoying the feel of the cool metal against my lips. Bucky continued to cry for a while more, my sleep shorts practically soaked and my legs so numb that I was probably going to have to crawl to bed. But he never let go, never moved his head, and never tried to remove his arm from my grasp.

Since that day, he has been exceedingly touchy with me. It was clear he was touch starved, I would be too, if all i ever knew was a harsh hand. I started to notice it when I had just returned from the market with groceries one day. I swore he had been asleep on his makeshift bed and I was trying to be as quiet as I could, but then felt a presence and a hand on the small of my back. I threw him a small smile over my shoulder before returning to my task. He stayed there for the entire time I put the groceries away, leaning against the fridge door and absentmindedly rubbing the exposed skin of my back. It was the hardest fucking lesson to learn, but I finally had enough willpower to not jump when he placed his cold fingers against my skin. I honestly loved the feeling of his metal pads dragging softly against the small of my back, but gosh dang were they freezing! Even despite the fact that he wore gloves almost all the time.

Nonetheless, i started to notice it more and more after this. Him standing close to me, having his hand on me at any point (or simply just brushing it against me), sitting near me, and my favorite, him laying his head on my lap when I’m sitting in the couch.

Had I fallen in love with the super soldier? I cannot deny it.

—

A whimper from the living room ripped me from my head. I sat up in the bathtub, trying to see if the sound was just in my head. Another whimper told me it wasn’t. I wrapped myself in a robe and padded softly into the living room where Bucky slept.

He wasn’t thrashing around, but his face was contorted in an expression I couldn’t read. Suddenly, a small moan left his lips and I just about swooned. What was this man dreaming about? At that moment, his blanket fell to the side and I averted my eyes respectfully, but definitely didn’t miss the tent that had formed in his sweat pants. I turned to walk away but then he moaned again, this time saying a name...my name.

I felt hot, not just in my face, but also in between my legs. He was dreaming about me? I almost didn’t believe it, but the man said my name yet again. Fine, if he says it again...

“Y/n...” Bucky moaned, a little louder this time. Damn it. Mustering all my confidence, I walked over to the sleeping man. It was a risk, and I knew it, but I’ll be damned if I lied to myself and said I didn’t want this man. Kneeling beside his bed, I gently brushed some of the hair out of his face. The super soldier startled awake and grabbed my hand harshly, breathing raspy. “y/n...what?” Voice sleepy.

“You were dreaming.” I said simply. He sat up quickly and pulled the blanket over himself, averting his eyes from my gaze. “Bucky,” he still refused to look at me. “Do you want me?” Bucky immediately snapped his eyes to mine, a clear and potent blush on his face. I heard him swallow hard before replying in the most quiet of voice,

“Yes.” Inwardly I celebrated as loudly as I could, but I kept cool on the surface. I surged forward and captured his lips. He responded immediately, moving his lips against mine. Without breaking the kiss, I straddled his lap wrapping my arms around his neck. Tentatively, he brought both hands to my hips. I licked his bottom lip and invaded his mouth when he opened. He moaned into my mouth as my tongue danced with his. When I pulled back, our breaths were short. His blue eyes glistened with tears,

“Are you sure you want me?” If it had been any other moment, I probably would’ve just cried and held him in my arms, but there was such a confidence within myself that I decided against such a meek answer. Instead, I pulled at the tie of my robe. Bucky almost instantly grabbed my hands, his eyes wide. “What are you doing?”

“Showing you just how much I want you.” As he relaxed his hands, I pulled the robe off. The cold air within the apartment perked my nipples. Bucky’s eyes traveled my body, but he didn’t move. Slowly, I led his hands to my chest. His metal hand played a dangerous game of temperature play with my breasts and a moan escaped from me. My cunt ached and I knew that I was wet from anticipation.

That moan must’ve given him some sort of confidence because he started to knead the fleshy mounds. He then dipped his head low and took a nipple into his mouth.

“Buck,” I moaned. His tongue laved over the nipple and I felt his teeth pull gently. I was a raspy, moaning mess by the time he switched over to the other nipple. Need friction. Taking his flesh hand from my breast, I guided it down to my aching cunt. Bucky stopped his lavishes on my nipple as he stared at me.

“I’m...” Bucky averted his gaze, “I’m out of practice.” Before he could get into his head and start comparing himself to his 1940s version, I kissed him deeply.

“So am I, we’ll learn together.” Bucky inhaled deeply and dropped his head to my shoulder. A finger touched my sensitive nub and I jerked. He started circling that area with his thumb as his other fingers explored, gathering wetness. A finger entered me and I gasped at the feeling. Another entered. Moving in and out, curling, and gently stretching me. I was a moaning mess at his musings. A white flash smashed my vision as he hit a certain spot within me and I moaned loudly. Bucky started kissing and licking my shoulders and neck, marking the skin as he paid attention to this spot within me. My moans spurned him on as he quickened his pace, still making sure to play with my clit.

“Buck...Bucky.” His name a mantra on my lips as I grasped his hair, my head falling backwards. His metal arm reached around my back, holding me in place. My orgasm was building, toes curling, that warmth within my belly. His fingers pumped and curled, edging me to the end. In a another flash of white It surged through me and I came on his fingers.

He looked surprised and proud of himself as he brought his soaked fingers to his lips. I almost came again as I watched him lick each one clean. His pupils blew out and he pulled my face to his, smashing his lips against mine. Tongue surged past my open lips, bringing the taste of me. Bucky lifted me off his lap and gently turned us around, laying me on his bed, but never breaking the kiss. He worked his pants off.

I pulled back from the kiss, my lungs screaming for air. He leaned upwards and I finally caught the full show. His dick was massive, too swollen and red. The veins popping. And fine curly hair at the base. He was Definitely bigger than I have ever had. I gingerly reached out and wrapped my fingers around him. Shit, he was thick, I could hardly touch my middle finger to my thumb. I looked up at him. His eyes were closed, mouth opened just a bit, and his hands were in his hair.

“Buck?” I brought his attention to me and he released his hands from his hair. “What’s wrong?” He had tears in his eyes again.

“I don’t want to be something you regret y/n.” He cried. I reached upwards and guided him down to my lips. His tears dropping onto my cheeks.

“Never. I’ll never regret you. I love you.” I whispered into his ears. Bucky froze. Oh shit, did I go to far?

“Say it again.” He spoke finally, still frozen in place, his ear next to my lips. I swallowed hard before repeating,

“I love you.” Bucky reached down between us, pumped himself twice, before lining himself up at my entrance. He pushed forward gently. Even with just the tip inside, I could already feel the stretching. He entered more, going slow. Bucky and I moaned loudly as he became fully sheathed inside. I grasped at his shirt, feeling full. There was a dull pain within my cunt and I breathed through it, the pain finally turning to pleasure. Almost as he could sense it, Bucky started to move. The rhythm was slow at first, him enjoying and getting reacquainted to the feeling.

My entire being felt jolted with every roll of his hips. His pubic bone was hitting my clit so perfectly that even at this slow pace, I was sure that he would throw me over the edge again. Bucky leaned closer to me, making sure to keep his weight on his forearms, and buried his head within my neck again. Wrapping my legs around his waist, i fisted my hand within his hair. He groaned and snapped his hips hard against me. The sound that left my mouth was pornographic, and he definitely liked it. Bucky started snapping his hips into me at a bruising pace, drawing moan after moan. I was incoherent, arching my back into him. He suddenly grabbed my hand from his back and thrusted it against the bed, holding it at the wrist. His metal hand hoisted my hips higher, and at the angle he was going, he was smashing into that special spot. I came in an instant, screaming loudly.

He didn’t let up his pace. Pulling out almost entirely before slamming back in. Both hands were now at my hips, gripping hard. There would be bruises in the morning. Groans and moans were rushing past his lips as he powered through, his stamina definitely a byproduct of the super soldier serum. Another orgasm built within me and he leaned over my ear,

“Fuck y/n, I can feel you clenching. Can you give me another doll?” I threw my head back as he bit into my neck.

“Bucky!” I cried as the orgasm came. Bucky slowed his pace, pressing open mouth kisses to my skin. He then began to work a mark into my neck. My body was on fire and really sensitive. I moaned loudly, fisting my hands into his shirt. For a moment I wondered why it was still on, but I figured that although he may be confident to be within me, he may not yet be confident to show me himself fully, and that was okay, we could work towards that. Once he was proud of the mark, he placed a loving peck to it before moving towards my face. Not an inch was left unkissed. He leaned his forehead against mine, blue orbs staring into mine.

“Ready?” He asked. I nodded slowly, kissing him gently. Bucky picked up his speed and this time, it was more brutal than before. Pubic bone smashing against the sensitive bundle of nerves, wet legs and balls slapping against skin making the most perverted of sounds. Bucky’s hands gripped mine. I arched into him again, writhing, unable to control myself at the amount of pleasure within. My moans were incoherent, his name slipping from my lips. Suddenly his hips stuttered and he slammed into me, wrapping his arms tightly around me and crushing me against his chest. His release came with my name on his lips, a string of soft repetition. For a while he held me, his cock warm within me. And then he pulled out, laying beside me. Sweaty bodies, heaving chests, and the smell of sex was an intoxicating combination. I felt drained, but happy.

Curling against him, I wrapped my leg around his hip, just to feel him against my cunt. Bucky reached down and pulled the blanket over us. As I felt sleep take over, Bucky pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“I love you too Y/N.”

[peachbear88]

So This is Love (Pt 3)

Inspiration: One day - Lovejoy

The moment you stepped out of Wanda's room, you were engulfed by the towering figure of Steve. "What on Earth was that? One moment she's trying to break your nose with a door, next minute she's staring at you like you're an angel sent from heaven."

"Gee, well maybe I am Rogers." You retort, pushing past him before slipping through your own bedroom door. "Good night Steve." You say, leaving him dumbfounded in the hallway.

You awake to find Tony, Nat and Peter, staring down at your drowsy face. "What the fu-!" You scream, throwing a random assortment of punches and kicks at the three faces hovering above you, catching Peter in the jaw while Nat and Tony deftly jump out of range of your attacks. "See, this is why we never do anything nice to surprise you." Nat quips, helping Peter to his feet. You rub your eyes groggily, trying to make sense of why the three of them were watching you sleep. "What the fuck are you doing in my room anyways?" You ask, still slightly drowsy. Tony's eyes widen, a small gasp escaping from his lips. "Kid... It's your mother-fuckin' birthday!" He screams proceeding to fire the confetti he had hidden behind his back. You look at him, unamused as confetti rained down, coating your room in the bright colored plastic strips. "It's too early for this shit." You mutter, flopping back down on your bed, only to be yanked out of your bedroom door by an overly enthused Tony and Peter with Nat trailing behind you.

"Come on! I've got so much planned for today!" Tony squealed, thrusting a notebook filled with activities for today. "He's more excited for my birthday then I am." You whispered to Peter, making him stifle a laugh as he scanned over your agenda. "Damn, he really outdid himself." Peter remarks as you turn the book towards yourself to see what he meant. "Small party at 8pm." You look at Peter. "That doesn't seem like too much. What do you mean he outdid himself?" Nat chuckled at your obliviousness as she pushed past you, grabbing a cup from the kitchen. "Clearly you've never been to a Stark party." You tilt your head, trying to connect the dots but clearly, morning isn't when you're at your best. "Well, if that's at 8pm, I'm going back to bed." You yawn, shuffling down the hallway towards your room but before you can even open your door, you feel a hand clamp around your wrist, dragging you towards the front door. "No way you're spending your birthday sleeping in. We're going on a run." You groan inwardly, giving a futile attempt at escaping. "But I'm not dressed for a run!" You protest. She aggressively pulls a sweater over your head and continues on her mission to get you out the door. "Now you are. No more excuses or I'll knock you out." You gulped, immediately shutting up. The moment Nat has effectively dragged you out the door, Steve, Clint and Tony burst back into the room. "Alright everyone, we've only got a few hours before Y/N internally dies and Nat is forced to bring her back so let's get to work everyone!" Tony screams as the rest of the group hustles around the compound, save for Wanda who watches as they prepare before returning to her room.

"My god... The moment I get inside, I'm showering because god knows what you'll do if I stick around." You groan as Nat pulls up in the compound's driveway, chuckling at your antics. As you push the door open, you notice how lively it is, with people left, right and centre. "Wha- I thought the party was at 8?" You sputter and Nat shakes her head. "Now you know what I mean. Nothing is what it seems." Tony runs up to you, beer bottle in hand. "Hey! Welcome to your party!!" He yells, clearly half-drunk already. You pull away slightly before yelling back at him. "I'm grateful for all the effort you guys put into this but I really want to shower first." His smile falls a bit but you cut him off before he can reply. "But after I'm done, rest assured I will be coming down here and getting drunk as hell!" You scream and he cheers, patting you on the back before you quickly dart towards your room.

When you emerge from your shower you opt for a plain dress shirt and black pants. You make your way downstairs to find the party still going strong as you slip past a drunk couple and make your way to the bar where Wanda and Nat stand, conversing away from the crowds of people. "Hello there. I see you two have gotten up close and intimate with the alcohol." You gesture to the shot glasses on the table. "That was actually all Nat. I don't drink." Wanda said, giving you a once over. "You look nice." She adds, opting for a small smile. You feel Nat's eyes on you as you give her a response. "Yeah well, you look pretty good too." You feel Wanda's eyes flick away from you and you notice her staring at a couple getting a little too close to the balcony. "Gosh, I better take care of that before they fall off and we have two dead bodies on our hands." She jokes before slipping away into the crowd. You turn back to Nat to find her giving you the most judgemental look you've possibly ever received in your entire life. "What?" You ask. She stares at you. "You and Wanda huh? You guys are cute together." You flush, the tips of your ears turning a bit red along with your cheeks. "Shut up and give me a drink Romanoff."

Wanda was now, once again wandering through the masses of people, her emerald eyes scanning the crowds attempting to find you. She sidles up to Nat who's immersed in a conversation with Thor. "Have you seen Y/N?" Nat glances up. "You mean that Y/N?" She asked, pointing upwards with a shot glass. Wanda looks to where Nat was indicating to see you, most likely drunk, singing on a table.

"And stop!"

"Cause why'd you have to kill my cat?"

"Why'd I have to take you back?"

"Time and time I play the empath."

"I don't know why"

"There's some lights on in an empty pub,"

"A toilet with the seat left up,"

"It's closure like a deer in headlights."

"One day, I know that you will be there,"

"One day, I'll focus on the future, maybe,"

"One day- Oh baby, isn't life so FU-CKING IN-CON-SISTENT!"

Cheers go up around the room as you keep singing, your eyes locked on Wanda's. Eventually the song ends with you face planting on the floor as Wanda rushes forward and catches you in the nick of time. "I think she's done for the night." Wanda excuses you and herself before helping you to your room. She plops you down on the bed and makes her way to the kitchen before returning with a hot wet towel which she presses to your forehead. She stares at your face, your cheeks tinged with pink. "Why do you treat me differently? Why do you care so much?" She mutters, not expecting a response from you. You force an eyelid open. "Because I know what it feels like." She jumps, before cautiously sitting back down on your bed. "I know what it feels like to love only to lose and go through a vicious cycle time and time again." She presses her hand on your forehead, presumably checking your temperature. "That still doesn't explain why." You turn to face her, your face still maintaining a drowsy look but your eyes appear to have some clarity. "Because I want to save you from having to go through that cycle again. I want you to have the choice to escape from that sinkhole. I want you to be different from me." You whisper before leaning in and capturing her lips in a soft kiss. She sputters, pushing you off her and rushing to the doorway. "You don't know me. I'm not like you and I don't need your help." She glares at you before slamming the door shut. You groan before flopping back down onto the bed, knowing that you fucked up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's it for this part! Of course, feedback is always welcome. In fact, I'd really, really love for some feedback. Hope you enjoyed this part!

[faithhopeloveandtherapy]

Welcome to 2022 and here I am attempting to catch up on tumblr after a couple of weeks in the wilderness. Christmas and all its associated activities has been tough going. My head has felt like 95% of its capacity has been continually in use keeping on top of basic day to day life and anything additional that has demanded my attention has had to have the remaining 5% which (like on a phone) actually turns out to be essential for background storage and doesn’t function as it should.

H and the girls went up to my family on 23rd December. I had to stay to take the babies to see birth family on Christmas Eve, but I had finally got to a point where I was feeling like I was up to date with everything. I had packed the suitcase after the babies had gone to bed (in the dark - it was luck that any of us had any coordinating outfits to wear), and then I had got them all up, dressed, fed and out of the house by 8.30am the next day and off to see birth family. That was when it started to unravel a bit. Between them, birth family had bought SIX huge present sacks full of presents. My face when I saw them must have been a picture as I tried to look lightheartedly surprised but excited, while inwardly I was screaming.

I had a friend lined up to come and supervise the babies for an hour after we got back from family time, so I could load up the car and sort the house. Unfortunately when I arrived home with all these bags of presents, I couldn’t just dump them because some had to come with us for Christmas Day. When my friend arrived to entertain the babies, I was halfway to insanity trying to figure out what to do with them all.

One family member’s presents all got opened during the family time. When I got them home and tried to sort them out a bit, I discovered that sadly most of them were old, stained, inedible or inappropriate. I divided them between a storage box, the dustbin, and a few that were ok to keep out.

I piled a selection of another family members presents into the car, and left three of the enormous sacks to stay in the house for after Christmas. We have finally opened all of the presents now. These remaining presents were really lovely items, not things that I would have chosen, but good quality items. A lot of electronic hi-tech toys that are sold as “educational” but in reality will sit on a shelf and not be played with beyond a few minutes here and there.

Anyway, back to Christmas Eve, it took me two hours to get the presents sorted and squeezed into the car along with suitcases and all the other accessories that three babies need for five days away (the giantest bag of presents blocked my view of the passenger side mirror for the entire journey) and then we were off! “Driving home for Christmas”. Usually one of my favourite moments of the whole Christmas period, but really I was too frazzled to do much but survive this year. We arrived at my parents late afternoon and our Christmas celebrations began.

We went to my sisters house for Christmas Eve. The babies wore their matching Christmas onesies and looked adorable. We ate a lot of food and I finally managed to relax a bit. We came back to my parents about 10pm and H and I sorted out all the Father Christmas presents for six children, stuffed stockings and pillow cases, felt relieved that the children are all too young or old to have to do reindeer food and leaving out carrots and sherry for Santa, and finally crashed into bed around midnight.

[edendaphne]

“Discordant Sonata” Chapter 20

>>Click here to read on Ao3<<

>>Click here to read on Wattpad<<

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CHAPTER 20: PRESTISSIMO

 Music glossary:

 Prestissimo - "Extremely quickly”; to be played as fast as possible

* Fun tidbit:  The name “Gaspard” means "bringer of treasure" *

–––––

(Mood Music: “Dead Things” - Philip Glass)

Adrien cursed into his gag, feebly squirming on the back seat of the car he’d been dragged into. The windows were heavily tinted, so there was no chance that anyone would be able to see him. Not that that mattered right now anyway, as he couldn’t even sit up at the moment. In fact, he couldn’t feel any of his appendages due to whatever drug his bodyguard (or... whoever he was) had injected into him.

One thing was certain: since neither of these men was the real Gaspard, they must be akumas, and his father had used their likeness to trick him.

Damn it. Why had he left his guard down back there? He should’ve known not to trust anyone. And now thanks to his idiocy, Marinette had gotten dragged into this giant mess, and he had no idea where “Fake-Gaspard #2” had taken her. He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to her. He seethed silently, consumed by fear and anger, both simultaneously raging for control.

He could feel Plagg behind him trying to fiddle with the zip ties that bound his arms together; but it wasn’t as simple as merely unlocking a safe or a door. Having Plagg with him was his only ace in the hole, so he had to remain hidden. Adrien had to plan his escape carefully for when the effects of the drug had worn off enough. Even if Plagg wasn’t able to remove the ties, he could still unlock the car door, so Adrien could roll out and... hopefully not be crushed to death by traffic. He let out a muffled grumble.

Okay... maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

He had to do something soon though; there wasn’t much time left before they arrived back at the Agreste mansion, and the only feeling he’d regained was in his hands and feet. He supposed he should consider himself lucky. If the dosage had been any higher, it could’ve interfered with his lungs, or worse.

Not that Father would care, he huffed impassively. If anything, it would get him out of the picture permanently, and he’d no longer be an inconvenience to Hawkmoth’s schemes.

Adrien’s thoughts drifted back to Marinette; worry and anxiety about what had happened to his beloved roommate clouded his mind, interfering with his concentration. He replayed her scuffle with the bodyguards over and over in his head, the overwhelming feelings of guilt and shame causing his entire being to ache in agony and self-loathing. This was all his fault. He was pathetic. Degraded from superhero to hostage with no one but himself to blame.

If Gabriel locked him away, would he ever find out what happened to her? Memories of being locked in a small, almost completely barren room for days at a time as punishment for misbehavior flashed in his mind, causing his insides to churn and his hands to get clammy. He fought the panic that threatened to boil over within him and firmly shoved the memories away. He needed his wits about him at the moment, and getting sucked into a spiral of panic would prevent him from being able to think logically.

His thoughts were interrupted as the car screeched to a halt, and had his Not-Bodyguards not partially strapped him into the lap seatbelts, he would’ve been thrown onto the floor from the momentum. He managed to turn his head and shake it slightly to try to get the hair out of his eyes, letting out a small grunt of puzzlement. What was happening??

His confusion didn’t last long.

An enormous force hurtled down from the sky onto the hood of the car, squashing it like an empty aluminum can, crushing the engine and rendering it useless. Once the dust and debris settled, Adrien peeked as high as he could, trying to catch a glimpse of what had landed on the car. Despite his meager view from the back seat, coupled with his blurry eyesight (as he’d lost his eyeglasses sometime during the scuffle), he could still make out the unmistakable red boots and black leggings that stood on top of the broken metal.

A million questions swirled around in his head in a jumbled tornado of confusion and elation. He tried calling out her name, having completely forgotten that he couldn’t, and he doubled his efforts trying to squirm out of his bindings so he could get her attention.

His endeavors were cut short though. Despite his impaired vision, he saw the distinct glowing masks form in front of the men’s faces.

I knew it!! he thought, glaring at them with distaste.

They rushed out of the car without a word, and he couldn’t help but utterly loathe the thought of Ladybug fighting both of them by herself, despite her partner being mere feet away, albeit totally useless.

God, I hate being a damsel in distress, he frowned. I hope she’s gonna be okay.

In a vicious display of skill that shocked onlookers, barely a minute later Ladybug had the two men strung up with her yo-yo from a street light. They hung several feet above the ground, expressions slightly miffed but otherwise still rather blank, which, for an akuma, was unusual to say the least.

“Ugh, not in here either,” Ladybug remarked crossly, discarding a broken watch onto the floor, joining the plethora of other torn items and belongings scattered all around them. “Where the hell is it?!” she grumbled after tearing a shoe in half and still not seeing any blackened butterflies.

She frowned, twisting her mouth in annoyance. If I keep going like this, they’ll end flashing all of Paris, she thought. Best to turn them over to the authorities and continue this search at the police station. She needed to check on Adrien anyway.

Right on cue, the police arrived and secured the area. After making sure the police had a handle on the situation, Ladybug rushed to the busted car to retrieve Adrien.

She jerked the car door open––or rather, tried to– accidentally yanking the entire door handle off and warping the metal of the door itself. She cursed in irritation, deciding to bypass the door altogether, and leaped onto the top of the car. With a strained heave, she peeled off the entire roof like a can opener, all the while muttering a colorful string of expletives Adrien had never heard his mild-mannered, even-tempered partner say before.

She dropped down next to him onto the back seat, releasing the seatbelts and assisting Adrien into a seated position. She reached up to touch his face, apologizing sheepishly before carefully peeling off the tape that covered his mouth.

Despite the gag being gone, Adrien remained speechless, staring at Ladybug with an intensity she’d never seen coming from him before. With a small, flustered stutter, she summoned a Lucky Charm. A pair of small, polka-dotted scissors landed onto the palm of her hand. She made quick work of his bindings and briefly inspected the red marks on his skin to make sure he was unharmed.

Adrien threw his arms around her, bringing her into a bone crushing hug, his entire body shaking like a leaf.

“Oh, Adrien,” she whispered, her voice still a bit raspy, and squeezed back firmly. “I’m so glad I found you. I was so scared.”

He didn’t reply, as he was near-hyperventilating, but his grip around her shoulders tightened and he buried his head into her neck, seeking comfort.

A few moments later, Ladybug gently lifted Adrien out of the car, careful not to touch the jagged metal edges. She hopped down to the ground and gingerly sat him on a nearby bench. He wobbled unsteadily, but managed to stay upright as she examined him.

“How are you feeling? Can you tell me what happened?” she asked, seemingly snapping him out of a haze.

Without a word, his head whipped up and his eyes developed a determined glint. He shot up to his feet– or, at least, he attempted to– barely managing to take a single wobbly step before crumpling onto the ground.

“Adrien!!” Ladybug called out as she halfway caught him. “Are you injured?! What’s happened to your legs?”

“Paralyzing drug,” Adrien slurred. “I’ll be fine,” he continued as he clumsily broke away from her hold, successfully taking a couple of shaky steps forward.

Ladybug exclaimed, horrified, “They drugged you?! What did they want?” She stepped in front of him, placing her hands gently on his chest, halting his attempt to flee. “Where are you going?? You’re in no condition to be running around right now, we need to take you to a hospital!”

Adrien shook his head, his tone becoming increasingly desperate, his pace becoming faster and more frantic as he stumbled ahead. “No no, please, I need to go look for her!”

“What’s wrong?” Ladybug asked, perplexed. “Look for who?” she said as she rushed beside him.

“I have to go back!” he pleaded. “I have to make sure she’s okay! She could be in danger, I need to find her!”

At this point, they’d reached a grassy portion of an adjacent park, and the uneven ground caused him to trip over himself. He cried out as he fell on top of Ladybug, who had surged forward to catch him.

“Please…” he looked down at her, barely able to hold himself up with his arms in their weakened state. “I have to find Marinette. She got hurt trying to save me,” he uttered quietly, his voice quivering and eyes glossy. “If anything happened to her, I don’t think I could–” his voice cracked, unable to continue. He inhaled slowly, then uttered with a trembling voice, “Please, I need to go back. She’s really important to me, I can’t go anywhere else until I know she’s alright.”

Ladybug’s face softened, touched by his concern. “She’s fine!” she blurted out. “Marinette’s fine!”

Adrien gave her a puzzled look. “What?? But how do you know?”

She attempted to give him a reassuring smile, trying her hardest to avoid looking like a demented clown. Think, you knucklehead, think!! Ladybug screamed inwardly in a panic.

“Uhh, she’s the one who contacted me!” she lied, then lowered her voice, as if she were letting him in on some forbidden knowledge. “She’s been secretly helping me and Chat Noir, so I gave her a way to contact me privately in case of emergency. But of course, this has to remain a secret; so please don’t tell anyone.” She helped him to a sitting position on the ground and added, “Can I trust you with this?”

Adrien’s face and posture relaxed, his eyebrows upturned with both amazement and affection. “Always,” he breathed out softly. “You can count on me, always,” he murmured, a kind smile etched on his handsome face as he reached for her hand and squeezed.

Ladybug smiled fondly in return, remembering why it had been so easy to fall in love with him several years ago. He was truly a selfless and sweet person at heart.

He lifted his hand up to her face, rubbing his thumb across a cut on her lower lip and wiping away a spot of blood which, unbeknownst to him, she’d gotten as Marinette. Her breath hitched, face suddenly feeling rather warm.

“It seems like we always meet under less than ideal circumstances,” Adrien chuckled softly. “Fate has a cruel sense of humor sometimes. I’m sorry.”

Ladybug’s stomach tingled, a sense of familiarity descending on her yet again. She must have been staring because Adrien swiftly withdrew his hand with a quick apology, muttering sheepishly how he’d never been very good at recognizing the need for personal space.

Not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable, Ladybug forced herself to pretend to have a functioning brain and smiled politely, helping him to stand and letting him use her as a support. “It’s okay, no worries!” she added amiably. “Would you let me take you back to the school? My yo-yo’s better than a taxi, or so I hear.”

He grinned widely, then nodded. “Yeah. I’d appreciate it.”

Ladybug picked him up, acutely aware that crowds were beginning to gather around the area. As she was about to take off with Adrien, she heard one of the cops call out her name.

“What is it, Officer Raincomprix? Do you have the situation under control? I’m taking Adrien back to the school to get him checked out by a medical professional. You can get a statement from him there, away from the public and from–” she added, an annoyed crinkle forming on her forehead “–from all the reporters. Be on the lookout for any possible akuma.”

Officer Roger Raincomprix’s face was one of pure bewilderment. “Uh– well, ma’am, something’s happened. I’m not sure how to explain. You’d better come take a look for yourself.”

Ladybug and Adrien exchanged puzzled glances, then she nodded as she and Adrien made their way to where she’d detained the kidnappers.

Upon arriving back at the scene of the battle, Ladybug gasped, almost dropping Adrien in shock, with a look on her face like she’d just witnessed an alien invasion.

“WHERE ARE THEY?!” she shrieked. “How did they escape?!?”

“We’re not sure,” Officer Roger stated. “Somebody caught it on camera, maybe you can get some clues from the video.” He called over one of the cameramen from a local news crew. “Rewind it, please,” he instructed him.

Ladybug and Adrien stared at the tiny screen in awe. The two men had been released from the lamppost and were being walked towards the police car in handcuffs. Once they’d almost reached the vehicle, they halted mid-step, then fell to the ground, faces twisting in agony, and they let out a bloodcurdling wail, like their insides were being ripped apart. A cloud of dark, indigo smoke engulfed them, obscuring them completely; and when it cleared, there was nothing.

Ladybug gaped in total confusion. “So they just… disappeared??” she cried. “Vanished without a trace??”

The officer shook his head. “Not entirely. These were left behind,” he added, presenting two small, white feathers.

Ladybug accepted them, even more confused than before. “And you’re absolutely certain you saw no akumas leave their bodies?”

Roger nodded. “Positive. There was nothing else. We’re searching the area for clues; we’ll let you know if we find anything.”

Ladybug exhaled sharply, feeling like she’d been thrown into a freezing lake, the tiny hairs at the back of her neck standing on end. What in the world was happening??

(Mood Music: Ballet from “Orpheus and Eurydice" - Christoph Gluck)

By the time Ladybug had gotten Adrien situated at the school nurse’s, the effects of whatever neuromuscular drug he’d been injected with had waned somewhat, and he’d regained most of the feeling and mobility in his limbs. Since he waved off the need to actually lie down in one of the beds, she helped him sink into a small sofa, adjusting the pillows, fussing over him, asking if he needed a blanket or something to drink. All the while, he kept trying to reassure her that he was fine (although his face did look a bit flushed during this exchange, which didn’t ease her apprehensions).

As the nurse examined his vitals and gave him a quick check-up, Ladybug’s thoughts slowly shifted from doting concern to one of regret and guilt. This was all her fault. She should have listened to Tikki and transformed instead of rushing in headfirst without knowing the full situation.

Her earrings rang out their second beep, reminding her that her time was beginning to run short. She knew she needed to part ways, but a pressing question rooted her to the spot. She couldn’t leave just yet. Not until she knew.

Adrien must’ve sensed her discomfort; as soon as the nurse excused herself to fill out a health report and speak to the police, he touched her arm and asked quietly, “Is everything okay?” He motioned for her to sit next to him, patting the cushion with a friendly gesture.

She complied, trying to appear as calm as possible as she took a seat. “Well, it’s about… earlier,” she began hesitantly, then lowered her head to whisper, “Do you think this had anything to do with those photos of us from a few months back, when we went to the movies together? Maybe the pictures got leaked after all, and the wrong people got ahold of them. I can’t help but feel like that’s why you were targeted.”

Adrien’s eyes popped wide open as he jerked his head up. “Oh, no!! No, it wasn’t!” Adrien replied, arms waving in emphatic denial. He tried to calm his voice again as he continued to insist, “Believe me, it’s not connected to that at all!”

“What?? B-but how are you sure? You can be honest with me; you don’t have to downplay it for my sake,” she insisted. “I accept all responsibility for everything that happened that evening. I should’ve known it was too dangerous and that it would put you at risk. I just want to fix things and make sure what happened today won’t ever happen again.”

“The timing was just a coincidence, I promise,” Adrien assured her, reaching forward and giving her shoulder a squeeze. “This has nothing to do with you... and everything to do with my father,” he added darkly.

Ladybug’s jaw dropped as a realization dawned on her. “Oh no, your father… he’s going to be so upset!! The police have probably already notified him, he must be worried sick!” Ladybug groaned in dismay, her head dropping into her hands, entirely missing the way Adrien’s eyes rolled sardonically. “Would it help if I escorted you to your home myself? Just to make absolutely sure that you arrive home safely? It’s no trouble, really! I’d just need to go recharge real quick and–”

Adrien looked like he’d just been set on fire. “NO!!!’ he cut her off, unable to keep the terror out of his voice. “Please, don’t!!”

Ladybug recoiled back like she’d been slapped in the face, utterly bewildered at his response. Adrien’s hands began to tremble, and he gripped the fabric of his pants to try to keep them still.

“Uhh, what I meant to say was, ‘no thank you, that won’t be necessary.’ M-my Father is, uhh... very particular. Fastidious, really. Someone will drive me back.” He grimaced as if his words tasted bitter, then he exhaled, seeming to compose himself. “I appreciate the offer, it’s very kind of you. But there’s really no need.”

“I… b-but…” she stammered, twiddling with the hem of her skirt, unconvinced. “Are you absolutely, positively sure you’ll be alright?”

Adrien nodded. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

Ladybug let out a deep sigh. “Well… alright. Sorry I kept pushing, it’s just…” She bit her lip, trying not to think about the chillingly blank stares of the impostor bodyguards. “It’s just that those men were no ordinary akumas. Actually, I don’t even know if they were ever really human in the first place. Or akumas. Something is very wrong here. I don’t like it.”

She felt Adrien shuffle nervously beside her, and her posture straightened like she’d been smacked with a rod, her head whipping up to meet Adrien’s concerned eyes again.

“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t be blabbing all this stuff to you, especially after what you’ve just been through. You’re safe now and I’ll make sure it stays that way, alright? I swear it! So, please try not to worry about it. I’ll discuss this incident with Chat Noir and see if he knows anything about this weird phenomenon, okay? We’ll protect you.” She grinned and took his hands into hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

An odd look crossed his face, but it shifted into a cordial smile before she could think much of it. “Right. Thanks, Ladybug. I’m sorry you had to get dragged into this.”

Ladybug sputtered, “Not at all! Please don’t be sorry! It’s my job! I was happy to do so! W-well, I mean– not happy you almost got– I mean, obviously not that, but happy that you... that I—“ she stopped her ramblings with a loud, embarrassed facepalm. “Ow. Anyway, you know what I mean,” she finished with a self-deprecating grin.

Adrien was about to reply when the door to the infirmary swung open, crashing into the adjacent wall with a loud bang.

“ADRIEN!!! BRO, ARE YOU OKAY??!” a despondent-sounding Nino rushed to his side, throwing his arms around him without even noticing Ladybug’s presence, a concerned Alya following closely behind.

Adrien hugged him back, touched at his concern. “Nino!! Boy, am I glad to see you! I’m fine, really!”

“You’re not hurt?? You’re really okay?!”

“Of course! I’m fine now, all thanks to Ladybug and Mar— wait…” His head whipped around the room, squinting his eyes as he searched (the action reminding Ladybug that Adrien’s glasses were still missing). “Where’s Marinette? She’s not with you guys?”

Ladybug let out an odd squeak, then tried covering it up with a cough.

Alya shook her head. “I tried calling her, but there’s been no answer. But someone pulled the fire alarm and called the cops, so maybe that was her? I was able to squeeze some info out of one of the officers. He said a young woman called and claimed she saw Adrien Agreste get taken away in a vehicle against his will. He mentioned that she sounded out of breath, almost like she was running or chasing after them. If that doesn’t sound like Marinette, then I don’t know what does.”

Adrien bit the side of his cheek, brows upturned in concern. “She saw us and tried fighting the assailants. She could be injured, I have to go find her,” he said as he stood up, still wobbly but able to do it unassisted.

“NO!!” Ladybug yelped, leaping off the sofa like it was made of hot coals, and they all looked up at her. “I mean, you shouldn’t push yourself. D-don’t worry, I’m sure she’s on her way! You should stay here so she knows where to find you! No sense in having you both running around and potentially missing each other, right?”

Adrien crossed his arms, not quite convinced, but deciding to follow her instructions. “Well… I-I guess. We should try her cell phone again.”

Ladybug continued, words dribbling out like a broken faucet, “Anyhoo, my earrings are about to beep again, so I’d better get going! But you all know how to get a hold of me if anything happens, right guys? Right?? Right... Anyway, bug out!!”

And with that, Ladybug scampered away like a white rabbit late for a tea party.

A few minutes later (the entirety of which Adrien spent answering Nino and Alya’s worried queries as well as filling out a police report) a rather rumpled-looking Marinette quietly entered the room, not wanting to interrupt.

She didn’t stay undetected for long, however. Upon seeing her, Adrien’s features morphed from surprise into joy, followed by relief, then concern. He’d never seen her look quite so… tired .

He must’ve uttered her name out loud because she approached them sheepishly. “Umm… hi. S-sorry, it took me a little while to walk back to the school and my phone ran out of battery on the way. Are you oka––”

Adrien sprung off his seat and shuffled towards her, halfway dragging his still-sluggish legs. He threw his arms around her, clutching her as tight as he could, as if she might disappear again at any second.

“Marinette, thank God,” he cooed, gently cradling the back of her head. “I don’t know how to thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, I would’ve been–”

“You would’ve done the same for me,” she said as she embraced him with matching fervor. “I’m just glad you’re okay now.”

They felt a large thwump as someone wrapped their arms around them, followed by another set of arms joining the pile.

“This most definitely calls for a group hug,” Nino said, squeezing hard.

“Especially after what Adrien told us happened,” Alya added. “Girl, you are so brave! I’m so proud of you!! Ladybug and Chat Noir better watch out or you’ll be stealing their jobs soon!” Adrien heard Marinette let out an amused snort as he and Nino chimed in in agreement.

Now that the danger had passed and the adrenaline had subsided, a moment of calm was exactly what they needed.

As the group pulled apart and he was able to get a better look at her, it was then that Adrien noticed how truly beaten up Marinette appeared, physically. Her hair was out of place, her clothes torn in a few spots, her usual hair accessory was missing, and she was covered in grime, cuts, and bruises.

“Oh, Mari…” he whispered sadly as he slowly turned her head by the chin, gently thumbing a large cut on her lips and ghosting the tips of his fingers over a darkening black eye, moving her hair out of the way.

Marinette then realized that, in the midst of all the commotion, Ladybug had forgotten to use her Miraculous Cure.

Damn it! Screwed up yet another thing today.

She wondered if she could summon another Lucky Charm later today and try to fix things then . She’d never tried using a Lucky Charm outside of battle once the danger had already passed. Would it even work?

Marinette winced. “That bad, eh? Do I have to wear a paper bag over my head for a few days to avoid frightening the children of Paris?” she joked. She instinctively stuck out her tongue to search for the cut on her lip, then flinched when the wetness of her saliva made it sting.

Adrien frowned. “Nonsense. Here,” he said, leading her by the hand back to the sofa. After she sat down, he began gathering some of the first aid materials that the nurse had left on the countertop, then rummaged through the drawers and cupboards for more.

Marinette let out a flustered squeak as he brought the supplies over and pulled up a chair, sitting across from her.

“Oh! Don’t worry about it, it’s totally not necessary,” she said, holding her hands up. “I can take care of it later, it’s no big deal, you should really get some rest–”

Adrien leaned forward in his seat, reaching for her hand. “Please. Let me do this.” he murmured, insistent. “It’s the least I can do.”

Marinette could feel her face getting flushed from all the attention, but didn’t want to argue with him. He was clearly blaming himself for what had happened, and maybe this would be a way to help him feel better, even though it wasn’t his fault whatsoever. She shyly tucked some hair behind her ear, then nodded in consent.

As Adrien treated Marinette’s wounds, they overheard Principal Damocles and Madame Bustier conversing as they walked down the hallway outside of the nurse’s office.

“—And now there isn’t even anyone left behind for Monsieur Agreste to press charges, since the police claim that the perpetrators disappeared into thin air!” Mr. Damocles lamented as he paused in front of the slightly ajar infirmary door. “It’s not like he can sue Ladybug or the authorities for their negligence in capturing the culprits. Or, come to think of it, maybe he can! He is friends with the mayor, after all,” he pondered, continuing his musings. “Regardless, the blame will surely fall upon us!”

“Perhaps this isn’t the time to worry about that, Principal Damocles,” Mme Bustier spoke in a more hushed tone. “Surely M. Agreste must be feeling absolutely distraught after what nearly happened to his son. He’s such a caring and devoted father, always worrying about Adrien’s well-being, especially since his wife’s disappearance. His son is all he has left. We should try to be more considerate.”

“Hmm, yes, I suppose you are correct. Perhaps if we send him a basket of fruit to show our condolences about this incident, he’ll let the whole thing slide and we can avoid a lawsuit.”

“Sir…” Caline Bustier let out a troubled sigh as the two continued down the hallway.

The room was quiet again and Marinette had to work really hard to suppress an irritated groan, as her acting skills were put to the ultimate test of avoiding outwardly cringing at her principal’s misdirected priorities.

Her attention turned back towards Adrien, and at this point she realized that his actions had halted. His arm hovered in mid-air holding a cotton ball soaked in antiseptic, glassy eyes staring blankly at the ground. He looked rather pale, almost like he’d seen a ghost, and his face was downcast, yet somehow still unreadable. She supposed that years of concealing his emotions came naturally for him as well.

Marinette knew that Adrien’s relationship with his father was rather strained, particularly over the past year, with him becoming more and more strict and Adrien having to deal with increasing pressure to maintain a near-impossible standard of conduct. But judging by Adrien’s dramatic shift in mood, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to it than that.

She reached forward, lightly touching his opposite forearm to get his attention. His gaze whipped up to meet hers, his eyes revealing an ocean of sorrow. But he cleared his throat and gave her a small smile, that perfect default smile, the one that she hated seeing on him. Then he resumed tending to her various wounds, briefly apologizing for getting distracted.

She noticed in her peripheral vision a miffed-looking Nino pulling Alya to the other side of the room, speaking in hushed tones. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it sounded like they were disagreeing about something.

“–You can’t just go around making those kinds of accusations!” Alya hissed, almost too quiet for Marinette to hear. “It’s literally the worst time for that!”

“I won’t!” Nino whispered back. “... For now. But it doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop suspecting him. I’m telling you, he’s not a good dude! If he’s such a ‘perfect’ father, why isn’t he here right now?! After what just happened?” His posture drooped and he crossed his arms. “I just… I’m worried about Adrien, babe. What if he’s not actually okay?” he asked with a slight quiver in his voice.

“Oh, Nino…” Alya’s face softened as she brought him into a tight embrace. “Everything’s gonna be fine, hon. Don’t worry.”

She glanced over and made eye contact with Marinette, giving her a small smile; then she and Nino walked off together to a more secluded area to continue their private conversation.

Adrien finished wrapping up a nasty-looking gash on her shin, which had bled through her pants leg. He’d rolled up the fabric to treat the wound, and was now rolling it back down.

“Thank you, Adrien,” she said quietly. “I should get going, my parents are probably worried; they usually keep the news radio turned on in the bakery, so they’ve probably already heard about what happened.”

Adrien stood when she did. Always a gentleman, she thought with a smile.

“Will you be alright? Can I walk you home?” he asked.

Marinette spluttered incredulously. “You’re asking me if I’m alright?! After all that you just went through??”

He shrugged slightly, giving her a tiny, contrite smile. “Well… you went through it with me. And, as amazing as you are, you’re not unbreakable. I just wanna be there for you like you were for me today. And like every time you’ve been there whenever I needed someone.”

Marinette’s heart thumped loudly in her chest, touched by his concern and gratitude. He spoke so sincerely, and she could sense that many things were left unspoken, and there was a weight behind his words that she couldn’t decipher. “What about your car ride?”

“I…” he faltered slightly. “I’ll tell them to pick me up from your place. No biggie.”

“Well… if you’re sure. The company would be nice,” she relented.

“Great!” he said cheerfully, offering his arm. “You can be my seeing-eye mouse.”

“A what? A seeing-eye mouse?” she giggled. “Actually, that reminds me–” she paused, opening her purse and rummaging through it.

Adrien’s eyes grew wide as she conjured up his missing eyeglasses from within.

“I went looking for them before coming to find you. It was lucky that they were still there, in the locker room. One of the lenses has a small scratch, but they should still work fine until you can buy a new pair.”

Adrien let out a small, incredulous laugh, then put on his glasses. “I can’t believe you went back for them. You’re a lifesaver, Marinette; in so many ways. Thank you.”

Marinette’s face warmed at the compliment, despite trying hard to smolder the remainders of a flame that was once there. She cleared her throat and teased, “Can I still be your seeing-eye dog?”

“You mean, my ‘seeing-eye mouse’!”

She raised an amused eyebrow. “Why a mouse?”

“You’d be a mouse ‘cause you’re little and cute!”

Marinette blew a raspberry as she giggled. “You’re such a dork! Alright, I’ll do it, but you’d better be there when I need someone to fetch something from the top shelves!”

Adrien chuckled and gave her a wink. “That’s a promise.”

–––––

As some of you correctly guessed: YES! The peacock miraculous was used to create sentimonsters in the image of Adrien's old bodyguard to deceive him and take him back to Gabriel.

There's some plot decisions I have to make (whether to follow my original outline of what comes next or if I need to tweak some things to improve the flow of the story), so it's back to "normal" updates again, but I'll do my best to update a bit more consistently :)

[fanfic-collection]

Professor!Loki x Reader: The TA

TA – 2

This chapter is kinda rambly/world building, but like it felt necessary even if it wasn't so great. I figured I'd have to get time to the next week and then I can start doing a time skip so stuff can actually happen (THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED)

-

The weekend went by uneventfully. Your roommate invited you to some frat party but by this point in your life, getting wasted on the weekend just didn’t sound as fun.

You thought about Professor Laufeyson, Loki. You could text him.

What would you say? Hi I’m bored this weekend and doing homework instead of going to a party. You groaned inwardly at the thought.

Maybe you could start with something less complicated.

‘Hey’ – you texted to him, biting your lip as you waited for a response.

A few minutes passed and you sighed, he was probably out on a Saturday night, doing something interesting.

Your phone vibrated and you pounced on it, quickly reading the text.

‘Hello.’ – Loki’s text

You swallowed hard, what next? Your phone vibrated again.

‘Odd time to be texting. Shouldn’t you be at a party?’

You felt your cheeks heat up.

‘Not really my thing. Finishing up classwork.’ – you.

‘Smart. Is there something you needed?’ – Loki

You groaned pressing your face into a pillow as you tried to think of something clever to say.

‘This paper is kicking my butt.’ – you settled on

There was silence on your phone for a time and you wondered if he was bored with your messages.

‘What’s the paper on?’ – Loki replied

‘It’s a world cultures class, talking about the afterlife.’

He took way too long to respond and you were hating yourself for texting him.

Your phone started ringing and you screamed internally when you saw that it was Professor Laufeyson.

Swallowing hard, you answered with a stammer, “Hello?”

“Texting is tedious, and to write it all out is difficult.” There was a pause from the other end of the receiver. “You want to know about the afterlife?”

You nodded but he couldn’t see you obviously. “Yea. You know, demons and ghosts and stuff.”

Loki hummed thoughtfully and you squirmed as you waited for his response. “There are many arguments across so many cultures that there is an afterlife, and yet it’s entirely feasible that humanity wanted to comfort itself by creating some sort of peace after the sufferings they had received.”

You swallowed hard and nodded. “That’s true. Most cultures have some sort of ghost type creature, the thought of a restless dead that hasn’t moved on.”

“Exactly. Though, this conversation is quite complicated, not an easy one to have over the phone, and at such a late hour.”

You grimaced. “Sorry, I was just trying to get it done before class on Monday.”

“What if we discuss this over coffee tomorrow?”

Your face lit up. “Yea, that’s a good idea. Ok, thanks.”

“Certainly. Get some sleep.”

He texted you a time and the coffee shop that you had already had drinks together at. You happily agreed, trying to hide your nerves, excitement, and enthusiasm. This was strictly educational.

-

The next day came and you were looking through your closet for your cutest clothes. You slapped yourself inwardly that you were trying to impress Professor Laufeyson. That didn’t stop you from adding extra makeup though.

You arrived at the coffee shop five minutes early and saw that he was already there.

“Punctual.” Professor Laufeyson commented mildly.

You laughed nervously. The campus was largely deserted at the moment, most students sleeping off hangovers. Only a few sleepy employees stood in the shop ready to take orders. To your surprise, Loki had already ordered your drink, the exact same one you had had with him last time. Down to the details, the right amount of sweetener, the right temperature and an extra spice to make the drink truly yours.

You blinked when you took a sip and realized how impeccably he had gotten the order. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“So.” You started hesitantly. It was one thing to be interviewing for your future job, but to see a professor at a coffee shop for help? That was a little bit unusual even for you.

“Down to business I suppose? Did you get enough sleep?” Loki tilted his head.

You scoffed. “That’s what caffeine is for.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Your paper then.”

You pulled it out of your bag and passed it over to him. Professor Laufeyson scanned over it, reading the mostly finished document. He took a pen from his bag and began to mark errors before handing it back to you.

“You have solid points, though here and here are a few inconsistencies. Also your third paragraph’s argument is a little weak.”

You looked at the paper and nodded. “Yea, I was thinking so. I need to add more to it but I don’t know what.”

“Well, I can’t write the paper for you but I know we can discuss the afterlife you’re wondering about.”

You looked up at him and smiled. “I’d appreciate that.”

The two of you talked at length, ordering a second coffee as he helped you flesh out your arguments. It was impressive just how many cultures Loki had knowledge on. His intelligence astounded you and as always, listening to him speak had you enthralled.

When you were pleased with your paper, the conversation turned to less pressing topics.

“So what did you think of my class, I didn’t really have all that much time to ask.”

“It was great.” You shook your head. “I wish I’d taken your class instead of Rizby’s. Uh no offense to your co-worker.”

Loki smirked. “None taken. Rizby has always been a bit of a bore when it came to speaking.”

“You were so lively and just, the books can’t keep up with you. Where did you learn it all?”

Loki looked uncomfortable for a moment before replying. “I have traveled a great deal in my life. I have visited many of the cultures I teach about and am able to learn of their history through more firsthand accounts. Well, those who could pass the history down to them, those that actually lived it.”

“I’d like to travel.”

“Where to?”

“Wow, anywhere, I’d love to get out of just one place. I lived in one town all my life and then I’m living here for school. I just, I wish I was more worldly.”

“I imagine I’ll offer you to accompany me on my next symposium. I speak at different locations on some of my historical knowledge as, well.” He chuckled. “I do have a lot of more first hand experiences with these cultures and being able to see their history through the lives of those who lived it.”

“So you’re like the expert in your field?”

“I suppose you could say that. If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would you choose?”

“I’ve always liked the Nordic countries, they fascinate me. A lot of Europe is great, but Africa and Asia are just so big and unexplored by us really. We barely learn anything about it, even in my world cultures’ class it’s still rather Eurocentric.”

“It is a rather shame.”

The two of you continued on about traveling. You learned about some of the more famous places Loki had traveled and listened in awe at him recounting stories with the locals.

Once again, three or four hours passed in a heartbeat and you looked at your phone shocked as it vibrated. Your roommate wondering where you were for supper.

Professor Laufeyson blinked, looking down at your vibrating phone.

“Sorry, just my roommate.”

“You live with someone?”

“Yea, just a friend from my old math class. She’s nice.”

A look passed across Loki’s face that you couldn’t quite place. “We try and have dinner together on Sundays so we don’t drift apart with our busy lives. We’re in really different social circles, but she’s a great roommate. You know, quiet, not terribly messy.”

Loki chuckled. “Yes. I imagine so. Are you quiet and not terribly messy?”

“I try to be, but we’ll see how that holds up.”

He nodded.

“I guess, I should get going then?” You reached for your bag and stood up.

Professor Laufeyson followed suit, standing and inclining his head at you. “Until class tomorrow then.” Then he turned and left the coffee shop, leaving you blown away about having had something of a date with your professor.

Get it together, it wasn’t a date. It was just coffee while he helped you with work.

And yet…

You mulled it over the whole walk back to your apartment.

“Hey, you, where were you on a Sunday? Shouldn’t you be cramming?” Your roommate Tory greeted you as soon as the door opened. Spaghetti simmered on the stove.

“I was uh, study date. Well not date, just study get together.”

“Uh-huh…” Tory studied you skeptically for a moment. “Oh, you like this guy.”

You felt your cheeks heat up. “It’s not like that, we’re just friends.” Were you friends with your boss?

“Uh-huh. C’mon, let’s get ready for food, you’ll have to tell me how the date went.”

You set your bag down. “Honestly, we just got coffee and worked on our essays.”

“A coffee date? Ooo.” Tory went into the kitchen and got a spoon out to ladle the spaghetti onto plates. “I cooked so you get dishes.”

“Alright.”

“Now spill.”

“He’s just some guy I know.”

“Yea, do I know him?”

“You might.”

“You’re being awfully secretive.”

You sighed. “It’s one sided if I like him, which I don’t. And honestly, it was just for studying. We both had papers and we worked on them together. You know, proofread, look over for problems, bounced ideas off each other. That sort of thing.”

“You keep your secrets for now then. But if anything comes of this, you have to spill.”

“You didn’t tell me for six months about your boyfriend.”

“I didn’t know if it would work out.”

“Six-month anniversary usually means the dating is going well.”

Tory scoffed. “Whatever.”

Supper ended and you put away the extras before cleaning the dishes. Tory went to her room, already on her phone with her boyfriend. Or so you figured, based on the cooing and pet names she was calling the receiver.

Should you text Professor Laufeyson again? Tell him you had a good time? Appreciated his help?

You bit your lip and took out your phone.

‘Thanks for the help today.’ – you sent.

You exhaled heavily after the text said sent, and a little dot saying “read” appeared. Then you sat on the couch and tried to forget your worries with some mindless show.

Your phone vibrated. ‘It was my pleasure.’ – came the reply.

Your heart swelled. It was his pleasure. With a smile, you settled into the couch and lost yourself to the program.

[bookishofalder]

Night Changes [Two]

Night Changes Series Masterlist 

Summary: The reader fucks up. The question is, why? Poe remembers the first time he had to say goodbye to her.   

Warnings: Angst, angst, language, sadness, violence, injury description, bacta-shot briefly described. WC-5,385

A/N: This one is super angsty with some great flashbacks! Get ready because after this chapter things really pick up, maybe some of that smut will make an appearance 👀

You slammed your bedroom door shut, anger and embarrassment coursing through you. You don’t think you had ever been as angry in your 14 years, wanting to scream and throw yourself on your bed to cry. Since your mother wasn’t home, you opted for the former, letting a shrill shriek escape, filling the room with your anger.

Even as you did this, you heard the front door open and close, fast footsteps on the floor telling you he was coming straight to your room. Damn, in your blind rage you forgot to lock the front door.

Not that locking the door had ever stopped Poe from getting into the Horn household.

“Go AWAY, Poe!”

His footsteps stopped just outside your door, the brainless, annoying, terrible Poe Dameron not stupid enough to try and open your door when you were this angry. Still, he called to you through the thin wood, voice strained with regret and worry.

“Please, I’m sorry-“

“You are not, you jerk!” You yelled back childishly, as a fresh wave of tears slipped out. At least he couldn’t see them. You caught your breath before continuing, “I saw you grinning over at Charlie when you punched Tahla! You enjoyed it!”

“He was touching you!” Poe responded, “Kissing you and touching your face! How else was I supposed to-“

“You were supposed to let me make out with the hot guy, Poe!” You growled, ripping open your door to glare daggers at your former best friend's face. Not expecting you to do this, he almost fell into the room as he had been leaning against the door. Once he straightened himself up, Poe frowned down at you, bewildered.

“I didn’t realize-I mean, I thought he was being fresh. Charlie thought so too.” As if your brother had anything to do with Poe’s overprotective reaction.

You gave him your worst look, marching further into your room and tossing your jacket on your bed angrily, hands gesturing wildly. “I’ve had a crush on Tahla for like, two months, Poe! He finally asks me out and gives me a pretty innocent kiss and then you come out of nowhere and punch him! In the face!”

You crossed your arms over your chest, staring at your floor now as you worked to keep any more angry tears from coming. Poe was silent for a beat, then stepped a little further into your room cautiously, as though you were an enraged mudhorn.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t know any of that, I jumped to conclusions,” You gave a humourless laugh, because when did Poe ‘better to ask for forgiveness’ Dameron ever not jump to conclusions? “Honestly, I didn’t hit him too hard, he’ll be fine.”

You couldn’t help it, you stomped your foot. As though you were a small child. You were so incredibly frustrated, you actually stomped your foot down. With another angry cry, you stormed across the room and pushed Poe, who barely moved because even just two years older he was so much stronger, broader, solid. It only made you angrier, emphasizing every other word with another hit to his chest. “You kriffing idiot, Poe! He’s never going to speak to me again now! What gives you the right, huh?”

You finally looked up at him only to see a confusing mix of emotions cross his features, the most prominent of which appeared to be regret. “I’m really, really sorry. I’m just protective of you, I know I shouldn’t have done that.” He hung his head in shame, a hand moving to rub the back of his neck tiredly. You knew him far too well not to realize how sincere he was being.  

You softened, only a little. “Poe, look,” You wiped under your eyes as you considered your words, “I like that you’re protective, don’t get me wrong. I know you love me. But you can’t just do stuff like that! I didn’t punch that girl from Tatooine when I found you guys making out last year, did I?”

Poe gave a small laugh, nodding his agreement. “Yeah, I don’t know what came over me...I promise it won’t ever happen again. Unless,” He paused and looked at you, his head tilting slightly, signature grin reappearing, “Unless you ask me to.”

“Thank you,” You stepped closer, into his space and wrapped your arms around his waist as you gazed up at your...well, you suppose he could remain your best friend. He stiffened briefly before his arms wrapped around you in return. “Poe, I love you too, you know, you idiot.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

-

You had fucked up.

It wasn’t a planet-shattering mistake that cost lives or the mission but considering your fuck up occurred directly in front of Poe, it sort of felt like it was that bad. And really, what the hell had you been thinking? Weeks of working together without issue and today was the day the cold professionalism shattered thanks to your behaviour. Kriff. And fuck.

You couldn’t explain what came over you, one minute everything was going as much to plan as it could when infiltrating a small but well-manned First Order outpost for data. Suddenly, the next moment you were disregarding protocol to shoot a Storm Trooper outside of your zone, only to miss the one hiding within your zone and getting your ass handed to you. The pain in your gut increased somewhat as you remembered the hit you’d taken not so long ago.

Temmin suddenly flipped onto a private channel, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Black-2, uh, I’m leaving Black Leader to you on this one, if that’s okay.”

You sighed, “Yes, Black-3, understood. Best to avoid the area if you know what’s good for you.”

“Yeah, I’m not getting caught in the crossfire, Major.” He agreed, before wishing you luck and cutting out.

It was almost funny when you landed and saw Temmin hoofing it quickly away from the landing zone, Karê also nowhere to be found.

Great squad, leaving you to handle the Commander’s rage on your own, you thought bitterly to yourself despite knowing full well it was anger that was deservedly going to be aimed at you.

You groaned inwardly as you watched Poe land nearby. You knew he was livid because, after your egregious failure in judgement, he ceased speaking to you entirely, which was very uncharacteristic for Poe. You had been the one giving him the indifferent, haughty attitude, which simply drove him up the wall. Instead of getting angry, he just didn’t shut up, as if he hoped eventually he’d say something to pull you out and make him feel better. He wanted you to have a big reaction, so it was the last thing you were going to give him.  

He was going to yell now, though. And you’d let him because he was your commander, you had disobeyed orders, and that was all that mattered. You were so ashamed of yourself you hadn’t bothered to update him on your condition. Which was becoming increasingly uncomfortable because the hit you’d taken to your stomach had caught you so entirely off guard you weren’t braced in any way for the impact. And the Storm Trooper had packed a mean fucking punch.

You sighed heavily before moving to exit your X-Wing, grimacing at the pain and taking it slow. You’d go to the med bay once he was finished reprimanding you, and then you were going to bed. Where you’d stay for a few days and wallow, just because you could. Today had not been your day.

You waited patiently for Poe to climb down from his ship, watching his stiff movements, the way he all but threw his helmet on the ground. Standing as tall as you could manage without straining your aching belly too much, you jerked your chin up and met his eyes levelly, your expression respectfully neutral. You braced, ready to take your dressing-down.

At least it was quiet in the hangar.

“What, and I can’t stress this enough, the actual fuck was that, Major?” He barked, storming up to you and stopping only a few steps away, his hands on his hips. Briefly, you recalled the number of times in your life you’d seen him this angry, and how he’d always stand the same. That anger had never been directed at you before, however. “You know what, don’t answer that. Instead, tell me why you think you’re above basic protocol?”

“I don’t, Commander.” You replied evenly, holding his gaze as he glared at you with the power of seven suns. You fought down the part of you that wanted to snap at him because you needed to separate the Poe you once thought was a friend from the one in front of you who was your superior.

“Because protocol includes abandoning clearing your own zone to take over in mine. Did you think I was suddenly incapable of handling myself? Did something happen which led you to believe I was incapacitated?”

His voice hadn’t risen, now it was just steady, loud but he wasn’t exactly yelling. The dripping sarcasm was more than enough to get his message across. You took a steadying breath, then paused to try and stop yourself from wincing in pain.  

“I did not think you were incapable, sir. I-I...” You faltered here because you truly had no idea why you reacted the way you did.

It was simple enough; breach the base, take down as many as possible but be quick and get BB8 to the control room to steal important data that would be harder to get from a more well-manned and larger base. Protect the droid while he worked. And up to entering the control room, all had gone well enough. Captain Temmin Wexley and Kare Kun, Black-3 and Black-4 respectfully, were with you and Poe, stationing themselves at the doors to the control room while you and your Commander breached.

You took out several officers and Storm Troopers within your zone, and you did think you had cleared it. You really did, but you were in the process of following protocol and checking when movement across the room-in Poe’s zone-caught your eye.

And you did abandon your zone. Because when you saw the downed but obviously not dead trooper raise his blaster directly at Poe from just a few feet away, something inside of you simply responded, as natural as the instinct to blink when it was too bright, you had turned and aimed your blaster at that trooper and shot him directly in the middle of his helmet.

And then the Trooper who had been hiding in your zone had pulled you roughly back way by your hair, your scalp prickling from the force, and used your distraction to his advantage when he pummeled your stomach. He had hit the air straight out of your lungs and you knew you’d have collapsed to the ground if he wasn’t holding your hair.

He never did get the chance to consider raising his blaster to finish you off, though. Poe had charged him, one moment you were crying out in pain and the next he practically pounced on the trooper, who had released you to try and defend himself until falling limp to the floor with a blaster shot to the head, Poe having wasted no time in killing him.

You had stumbled back, hitting a wall and panting heavily, watching as Poe rose from atop the trooper, turned to look at you with fire in his eyes, and then just as quickly looked away. You weren’t stupid enough to say anything, so you simply worked to catch your breath, your eyes on the droid successfully stealing the data.

At your failure to explain yourself, Poe’s brows shot up so high they threatened to disappear into his hairline, and he stepped closer to look down at you. “I’m sorry, Major, didn’t quite catch that. You want to go ahead and speak up?”

You settled on a partial truth, having nothing more to offer. “I reacted to a threat to my Commander. Poorly, yes, and for that, I do apologize.” Your last word came out strained, the pain in your stomach becoming more than distracting now when you took in too much air.

Poe noticed, his brows dropping into a frown as he gazed at you, eyes moving from your face, which was sweaty, to your awkward posture. “Are you injured?” He demanded.

You nodded, “Slightly, sir. I’ll go to the med bay after.” Ah, fuck though, it did hurt. Maybe you should just stop talking altogether until you could get a bacta shot.

Crossing his arms, Poe leaned away from you and sighed as his expression softened a little, “Just go. And don’t pull that bullshit again. Fuck, you should have been excited at the prospect of seeing me get hurt, (y/n).”

You weren’t going to give that statement any acknowledgment because he knew it wasn’t true, he just said it to be mean. Pursing your lips, you gave him one curt nod before stepping around him and making your way out of the hangar. You didn’t look back, but you sensed his eyes on you as you hunched over, clutching your stomach and hobbling as quickly as you could.

Thankfully, the med bay wasn’t too far from the hangar, though it certainly felt a lot further now that you actually wanted to be there that exact moment. You garnered a few looks as you walked along, your expression was positively livid from the pain and the shame of the day. When you came through the doors of the med bay, you saw a nurse stationed in the entryway at a neat desk, where she typed away on a datapad.

When she glanced up at you, she did a double-take before jumping to her feet, her eyes landing briefly on your flight suit patch. “Major! My goodness, are you alright?”

You bit back an angry retort and settled on a pained grunt, pointing at your stomach. “Took a serious punch here, armoured trooper.” The nurse nodded at your explanation, stepping around the desk to help lead you around the corner where a room was set up with several beds. She indicated the nearest one, which you walked up to, hesitating to sit.

“I’ll just get a healer.” The nurse said kindly, hurrying through a set of doors to your left.

You shut your eyes, tears springing up the moment you were alone. You tried to hold them in, turning carefully and slowly, slowly lowering yourself to sit gingerly on the bed.

“Fucking fuck fuck!” You hissed, the movement and shifting of weight causing the pain to spike, your back tightening in protest.

A clearing of a throat alerted you that another person was in the room now, just in front of you based on how close they sounded. But you kept your eyes shut, afraid that if you opened them tears would fall, and you hated when anyone saw you crying.

“Major, I’m Healer Derrin. I’m going to quickly assess you before giving you a bacta shot. Is that alright?” His voice sounded kind enough, a little amusement laced in his words telling you he heard your less than ladylike cursing moments before. Not that you ever cared about being proper or delicate.

You nodded, “Sure thing, doc.” Eyes still pressed tightly closed, you jerked a little when his hands slid over your wrists, gently easing your hands from clutching your stomach. You dropped them to the bed and fisted the sheets as the healer began to prod your abdomen.

You couldn’t help it, you groaned in pain as he did this, fighting the urge to push him away.

“I know, you’re doing great. Listen, I need you to lay down so my med-droid can quickly scan you for internal bleeding, can you do that for me, honey?”

Normally anyone calling you ‘honey’ would earn a swift kick to the nuts, but given the nature of your predicament and the fact he was clearly trying to comfort you, you let it slide. Without a word, you let yourself go limp and tried to lay. He caught your shoulders and helped you, saying words of comfort as you swore repeatedly. The droid got to work the moment you settled, and it didn’t take long from there.

“I need to just unzip your flight suit to get access to your buttocks, Major.”

“Yep.” You replied tightly, not giving two shits how he went about giving you the shot. His hands moved with care and respect, though you wore the standard-issue white shirt underneath your suit. You knew a few female pilots who liked only wearing their bra beneath the suit and never understood their thinking. You liked to be prepared for anything, and sacrificing comfort for sexiness never did appeal to you.

Once he finished, his hands moved to your hip, rotating it slightly and moving the fabric of both your suit and your underwear aside, your left butt cheek now exposed. You felt something cold and wet on your skin, then the sting of a needle and then pure bliss as the bacta shot was injected.

Your body immediately sagged into the mattress, a relieved sigh escaping your lips as the pain vanished. You opened your eyes as the droid removed the needle and the Healer began zipping you back up. And stars, the healer! He was like something straight out of a Corellian soap opera, the definition of tall, handsome and unfairly fit. And he was smiling at you, flashing bright white teeth as his blue eyes searched your face with professional care.

“Better?” He asked, laughing when you merely nodded happily, a noise of content humming out. So much better, you could fall asleep right that moment.

He helped you sit back up, though you didn’t need the help anymore. You felt amazing like you’d never known pain in your life. Bacta was the shit. You’d only had it twice before in your life, once when you were a teenager and the other time just after you’d joined the Resistance.

“Thank you, Healer, really.” You breathed, smiling up at him. You held out your hand, eager to correct your initial, though understandable, rudeness. “Major (y/n) Horn.”

Healer Derrin shook your proffered hand, returning your smile with his own. He had fair hair, a smattering of freckles that only made him that much more endearing, and you suddenly felt a little shy. Although he had just seen half your ass, so what was the point in feeling shy.

“Great to meet you, Major.”

“You too, wish it were under better circumstances, but I suppose this is the nature of our work.” You replied with a shrug, flushing slightly when he gave another warm laugh. You weren’t sure if you were flirting exactly, because you hadn’t done that in years, but it felt nice all the same. You’d mostly kept to yourself since coming to D’Qar, really only socializing with your team and a mechanic who had long hours. It had been a little lonely.

You stood, straightening your flight suit as the Healer entered a few notes into a datapad. “Now, if you have any sort of discomfort or pain in the next twenty-four hours please come straight here, but otherwise you’re good to return to duty.” He gestured toward the way out and you walked with him, pleasantly surprised he was walking you out. “If I can be bold, Major...?”

He stopped walking at the doors to the med bay, which opened as you turned to look up at the healer, curious. “How so?” But you could guess. He was rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, his eyes warm, an almost shy nature about him suddenly.

“I...I’ve seen you around, a couple of times only but you always, that is. Uh,” He paused, laughing to himself a little as he struggled, and you tried to give him a kind smile as you patiently waited for him to get it together. “I think you’re really pretty, and I’d love to take you for a drink sometime.”

Despite sensing where the conversation had been moving, it still didn’t prepare you. You’d had a few one-night rendezvous over the years, casual intimacy for the fun of it. But this was new, not so heat-of-the-moment but rather just a pleasant man complimenting you and asking you out. “Oh,” You grinned, “That’s sweet of you. I’d like that, Healer-“

“Rush, you can call me Rush.” He was smiling too, relieved.

“Rush,” You repeated, “Well Rush, you know where to find me when you want to get that drink.” And giving him one last smile and a little wink, you spun away and stepped into the hall, feeling a little giddy.

Until you saw the back of a familiar Commander disappear around the corner ahead, shoulders stiffer than when he’d climbed out of his X-Wing half an hour before. Huh.

++

Poe had experienced too many strong emotions for one day.

Though anger seemed to be the star of the day, which was new for Poe as generally his anger burned away quickly if ever it did come up-he just wasn’t one to sit in a single emotion for very long. Today though, he’d gone from shocked outrage to seething fury to whatever the fuck anger seeing you get asked out by some cocky Healer had brought on.

When he’d watched you leave the hangar, he saw the weird way you walked and knew you’d been hiding your injury the whole time he’d yelled, something that both impressed him and fed his anger. You were supposed to report injuries to him straight away, not let them fester until you were nearly ready to pass out.

Stars, you were fucking stubborn.

He’d followed you to the med bay, concern overriding everything else, and waited by the nurses' station while you were treated. He could hear you making pained noises, trying to bite back sobs, to hide how much you were hurting. You’d always been a bit of a masochist, preferring to suffer in silence, alone, whenever possible. He’d sat outside your door growing up plenty of times, listening as you sobbed, knowing you were aware he was there but unable to leave you alone. And you’d never really asked him to leave, so long as he stayed quiet and didn’t mention it when you eventually let him in the room.

Still, he’d always hug you and quickly claim it was for him, not you, and you’d just give a watery laugh and roll your eyes.  

When he heard you sigh happily getting your shot, he went out into the hallway and debated waiting for you. He still had words for you, still needed a proper explanation for your mistake, because you didn’t make mistakes. Not like that, during a mission, and certainly not simply to protect him. He thought perhaps you had wanted to clear his zone just to prove a point, to show off because you’d spent the last few weeks essentially ignoring him, giving him a shoulder so cold he wondered how you didn’t turn into fucking ice.

But when he turned in time to see the Stormtrooper you’d missed pull you back, he realized you hadn’t finished clearing your zone, you had not been trying to best him. You had actually, astonishingly, fucked up.

The surprise was far outweighed by the force that rose within him when he watched you take the hit, your little body just folding from the muscle behind the punch, your cry of anguish filling the air. Protectiveness, the likes of which he never felt toward another person, surged and aided him in tackling the trooper away from you at the same time he aimed his blaster and took the shot, killing him.

And when he stood up and saw you watching him, wide-eyed and clearly flustered, he became overwhelmed. Because you suddenly looked exactly like the (y/n) Horn he’d grown up with, all the walls and pretenses and cold shoulders stripped away just for a few seconds, revealing the you he knew so well underneath. It ripped at his heart, grief and longing swirling around as he thought of how much he missed you, missed Charlie, missed his old life.

So he let the anger take over because that was easier than trying to play it all off and scold you at that moment before promising to chew you out after the mission. No, he allowed you to see his fury and when he approached you back on base and saw you waiting for him with your head held high, he knew the message had been received, all the same, the old you locked back away and ready to cooly take your verbal punishment like any other good pilot.

Fuck, he hated this. Hated working with you and having to see every day the person you had become to him, what his actions and words had reduced you to. He’d seen you outside of missions, around the base and in the caf. You were content to be alone, occasionally sitting with Temmin or a friendly mechanic named Ana who was assigned to your ship. He never saw you out at the only cantina nearby, never even saw you laugh. You were like a shell of who you’d once been until Rush Derrin seemed to pull out an unfamiliar side of you when he’d asked you out.

And though he hadn’t yet figured out how to try and heal his relationship with you, Poe had been thinking about it constantly. What to do, how to say he was sorry. How to convince you without causing you to pull away even further. So the fact that a random guy had just managed to make you laugh, smile, agree to a date, well that was more than enough to fuel his anger.

The thing was, after Charlie, it was tough, hard as shit to deal with what his life was without you or your brother. After some time, he learned how to lock it all back, avoid it as much as possible to protect himself. Because he hadn’t had any luck in figuring out where you’d gone and he was losing hope he’d be able to find you and beg for forgiveness. But then, working with you these last weeks had proven that those years apart had been easy, so fucking easy, compared to the pain and misery of being so close to you again but feeling like a different person. Feeling like you weren’t the (y/n) he remembered and wondering if she was lost forever, that he’d never be able to find his way back to her. Which meant that Poe would never breathe freely again, didn’t it?

He hadn’t breathed properly since Charlie’s funeral.

Poe wanted to punch something, but he hurried away before you could see him and instead went straight to his room, where he would spend the next hour standing under scalding hot water. It was an attempt to help him clear his mind, though once he relaxed enough it only ended up wandering right back to you, to memories he’d locked away for years, his walls crumbling useless heaps now.

-

“You know, I’m really going to miss you, Poe. Is it bad that I don’t want you to leave?”

Poe looked down at you where you lay curled into his side, the two of you lounging together on your bed, a night like a million others only this one was different, final.

It was the last night before he and Charlie shipped off to basic training, to become real pilots with the Resistance far, far away. He was beyond excited as he’d been dreaming of joining for as long as he could remember, but torn because you still had two years before you’d be joining them, and even then you’d be doing basic and kept busy with that until you could be assigned. He could only hope that he and Charlie were assigned to the base by the time you came along, but it all seemed too far away, too much time apart.

“No, I get it,” He replied, tightening his arm around your shoulders, “I’m going to miss you more than anything on this entire planet, sweetheart. I don’t...I’m not even sure how to exist without you, you know?” Truthfully, his entire life orbited around you. He wasn’t sure what it would do to him to leave.

You hummed sadly in agreement, “At least you’ll have Charlie. I have to figure out how to live without either of you,” Your voice broke, and you paused to try and prevent yourself from crying. Poe waited for you to continue, but let his tears fall freely because fuck, this hurt. “Thought I’d be ready for this, but these last few months together have just flown by and now you’re both leaving and I’m going to be alone.”

And there, there were the tears you so often refused to give in to, springing free and pulling sobs from deep within your chest. When you did cry, it only ever seemed to be for Poe. He was the only person you let take care of you, the only one allowed to see the vulnerability.

He sat up, pulling you with him and tugging you into his lap, his arms crushing you against him as you both cried. He always adored how well you fit in his arms. How perfect it felt to press his face into your neck, hold your body against his. He was going to miss this, miss you, so fucking much.

You were right; the last few months together did fly by, and he still hadn’t told you...but he couldn’t, wouldn’t, not now, not with so much time apart literally on the horizon. He’d debated the same thing for years, questioning his decisions these last few weeks because they were going to be the last together for quite some time. But you were his best friend, he didn’t want to risk anything right now by admitting...well, there was no point in thinking about it anymore.

He and Charlie were leaving, and you were going to have to live here without them for the first time in your life. They would be busy and together, you would be on your own. He wasn’t going to add another layer of baggage to your shoulders before leaving.

Of course, they would write, possibly visit once or twice but there were so many variables to that possibility there was no point in getting his hopes up that it would happen. Two years, in the grand scheme of the universe they were nothing, minimal, no time at all. But even just a night away from you had become unbearable to Poe. As much as he was ready and excited to go, he knew he was leaving half his heart behind and he was content with sitting in that and being miserable about it here with you safely tucked into his arms.

“You will never be alone, sweetheart, not really.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your hair, one hand absentmindedly rubbing your back in soothing circles. “Doesn’t matter how many galaxies separate us, I will always be with you, and you with me. I promise.”

You clung to him tighter then, your face pressed into his neck as a fresh wave of sobs wracked your body, and Poe joined you because saying goodbye, even for just a little while, was the fucking worst.

Poe and you stayed together all night, eventually falling asleep for a few hours before dawn brightened your room and you each awoke. Saying your goodbye’s and I love you’s until Charlie joined you, sandwiching you between him and Poe and giving you both the saddest grin.

And in those final moments where life was just the three of you, Charlie promised you’d all be together again. That you would fly together on the same Squadron before you could blink, fight until you won the war and spend the rest of your years laughing and flying and living until you were all old and grey and cranky.

And you’d each felt better because when Charlie made a promise to either of you, he never let you down.

Poe continued to stand under the running water, his anger now faded, replaced with an indescribable sorrow. His choked sobs filled the otherwise quiet space, long after the water turned cold and night settled in outside.

Taglist:

@mermaidxatxheart @foxilayde @eleinemk @paintballkid711 @mylifeisactuallyamess @20th-centu-fairy-girl @deitysnips @cannedsoupsucks @ubri812

[lsvdw-blog]

Mistakes

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x f!MC

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings; Rating: Angst, Some curse words; Teen (to be safe)

Premise: MC confronts Ethan about standing her up.

Author’s Note: Thank you to everyone for the lovely feedback on Already Here - this is Part II! This is very angsty and I'm so sorry 😭 I hope you enjoy and thank you for reading 😊

As soon as the name hits his ears, the maître d' subtly tenses. Lifting his eyes away from the notebook in front of him, he plasters on a fake smile, and levels at the man.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ramsey, but your table has been given to another party."

Ethan's brows furrow slightly. "Dr. Ramsey and I don't understand."

The maître d' inwardly rolls his eyes. "My apologies, Dr. Ramsey. However, your date has left and instructed us to put your table to good use."

Ethan runs a hand down his face.

"That's preposterous, Joshua. She couldn't possibly have left. Are you certain she didn't just excuse herself to freshen up?"

Joshua emphatically shuts the notebook in front of him, causing Dr. Ramsey to jump slightly.

"Yes, I'm certain, as is the rest of our staff here tonight. In fact, any one of us would have been honored to spend our evening with someone as charming as her, but instead, she was waiting for you. And, in spite of her lousy evening, she made ours, by leaving a very generous tip."

Halfway through Joshua's speech, a hush fell over the nearby clientele, who were now all watching the scene unfold.

"Do you think that guy is gonna punch Joshua?" Someone whispers and is immediately shushed.

Ethan's heart rate picks up as it dawns on him that the entire restaurant, personnel included, is gossiping about him.

"I—"

"You may be a medical professional, Dr. Ramsey, but that doesn't make you any less of an asshole for standing up such a lovely young woman. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Ethan is left standing there, dumbfounded. After a few seconds, he clears his throat and straightens the front of his suit jacket. As he turns to leave, the other patrons quickly avert their eyes and begin to whisper.

~~~~~~

She pounds on his door with her closed fist.

BANG BANG BANG!

"Ramsey, if you're in there, open the door right now!"

She probably should have just gone home, but she couldn't help herself; she needed some answers.

She hears Jenner barking on the other side of the door, but no one comes. For the second time that night, she's left waiting. The anger she conjured up on the ride over quickly dissipates.

She leans backwards against the wall by his door, inhales and exhales deeply, and slowly slides to the ground.

Am I pathetic? She thinks, as she rests her head on her knees by her chest and tightly shuts her eyes.

She doesn’t know how long she’s been sitting there when her eyes snap open at the sound of footsteps approaching.

"What are you doing here?" His baritone voice asks.

She gives a disbelieving laugh. "Really? That's what you're going to open with?"

Ethan coughs awkwardly and goes to unlock the door. He looks down at her and asks softly, "Would you like to come in?"

She's still sitting on the floor, head turned away from him. As he swings the door ajar, she slowly rises and enters.

Jenner immediately trots towards her. "Hey boy," she whispers as she stoops down to pet him.

Ethan drops his keys in a bowl and makes his way to his bar cart. "Would you like something to drink?"

"The strongest thing you have."

His large hand nearly spans the bottle as he pours them both a glass of scotch and walks back over. She glances at him, taking in his loosened tie and unbuttoned collar, hair in disarray, and how his cologne mingled with the faint smell of alcohol. His tousled state is almost enough to diffuse her completely. Almost.

She snatches the drink from him, downs it, and finally makes eye contact. To any other person, her eyes are ablaze with anger, but to him, he can see it for what it really is: a mask to hide the pain she's in.

"What the actual hell, Ethan?"

He looks away guiltily and takes a sip of the amber liquid.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Okay, then I’ll talk. You could have called, or texted, or freaking emailed for all I care. You cancelling would not have been ideal either, but it would have been better than me sitting there, by myself, for almost an hour! 45 minutes, Ethan! If you weren’t going to show, why couldn’t you have picked a place friendlier to my resident salary? I could’ve saved myself a couple hundred bucks! I know this is new for you, but I asked for a date night, not to ride off into the sunset with you!”

Chest heaving and staring daggers at him, she was yelling, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. He stays quiet for longer than she would have liked, which only frustrates her more.

“Oh, for the love of—”

“I don't want to make the same mistakes.” He interrupts her.

She freezes. “Mistakes? What exactly is a mistake here, Ethan?”

It may be the bright lights of his apartment, or her shouts of desperation piercing his heart, or the liquor he had before he left finally catching up to him,* but he snaps.

“This! All of this! This conversation, this date night, us!”

His eyes widen in horror at his malicious words and even Jenner barks at him to stop talking.

She mirrors his horrified expression and gasps. The crystal tumbler she forgot she was holding falls to the floor and shatters into a million pieces, reminiscent of her heart.

It feels like time has stopped and honed in on this specific moment. She sees everything in slow motion as Ethan opens and closes his mouth a few times, failing to make a sound. She lowers her eyes, blinks a few times, and begins to turn to collect her things.

As she grabs her purse, time resumes. She makes a beeline for the door, but Ethan is quicker. He steps in front of her and gently cups her face.

“Baby, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean that at all. It was said in the heat of the moment and it is the furthest thing from the truth. Please don’t go." He’s gazing at her earnestly, but she keeps her eyes glued to the hardwood floor beneath them.

She registers that he’s speaking, but doesn’t hear his pleading. Everything in her is screaming to get the hell out of there.

"Please look at me." His voice, barely above a whisper, quivers and she is brought back to her harsh reality.

She snaps her head upwards, coldly staring at him, tears welling in her eyes. His heart cracks when he realizes that he’s never seen her cry.

Until now.

“Ethan, if you make me stay here right now, the next time I walk out your door, I am not coming back.”

The resolve in her statement is nearly tangible and grips him with fear. He swallows thickly and gives a slow nod of his head. She breaks free from his grasp and the last things he hears are the loud thud of the door and Jenner’s whimpers.

~~~~~~

*Disclaimer: No pixels drove to or from the restaurant as our man had been drinking. He may be an asshole, but is responsible and called a cab.

[arvandus]

Hi☺️ congratulations on the 500 followers! Please could I have number 27 with Shouto Todoroki and Fluffy ending?

Hope you have an amazing day!

Okay, so I SO APOLOGIZE for how late this is. Also, I've never written Shouto before and I was ✨nervous.✨ For some reason he's a hard one for me to pin down, but hopefully I'll get better with practice!

Anyway I hope you like this! It's got a little angst, but nothing heavy and definitely gets that fluffy ending. 🥰

Word Count: 2052

Pairing: Shouto Todoroki x GN!Reader

27. “I can’t think straight when I’m around you.”

You had thought that you’d enjoy working with Shouto Todoroki. Everything you’d ever heard about him was that he was calm, intelligent, and kind. And when you’d first started working at his father’s agency, those things were all true. He was always helpful, giving tips, answering questions, and offering to help with the paperwork that had quickly piled up. In fact, your first couple of months were made significantly easier by Shouto’s constant support and helped offset the sternness of his father who still ran the agency.

Everything had been going fine. More than fine, even. Shouto and you had become increasingly friendly, meeting up for your lunch breaks and pairing up for the patrol routes together. But something started to change. It was like a subtle shift in the air, a stillness between the two of you that wasn’t there before. You weren’t sure what started it.

Was it the time your fingers had brushed his when you’d handed him some paperwork? He’d frozen like a deer in headlights...

Or was it that one time during lunch where you offered part of your food and he’d turned it down with averted eyes and flushed cheeks? Maybe you’d offended him...

Or was it that time you’d just captured a particularly difficult villain and flashed him a glowing, excited smile as the public swarmed you for photos? Perhaps he thought you were gloating...

Whatever it was, you desperately wanted to undo it. Shouto began to pull away from you, a little bit at a time. His eye seemed to avoid yours more and his small, familiar smiles vanished. Gradually, he became less and less available. Wanted to meet up for lunch? Oh, he had a stack of paperwork to take care of. Offer to help him with said paperwork? Can’t do that, it’s “classified.” Meet up for drinks afterward? Couldn’t do that either; he had to get his rest for the next day. His answers and explanations were never mean; his still handled you with kindness. But there was a wall there suddenly that you couldn’t see past. He only let you see as much as he wanted you to see.

But the worst part was when he changed his daily patrol routes. Once again, he was kind about it, flushing slightly and avoiding your eyes as he explained that he had to pair up with a less experienced newbie who needed help in the field. It made sense, of course it did. Still, his response had left you unsatisfied. It felt incomplete, a half-truth meant to divert your attention from the real reason, whatever that was. You wanted to prod for more, to silently showcase the skepticism that you felt with a hard look. But you couldn’t bring yourself to. His reason was sound enough, and to accuse him of otherwise might make things worse. So, you bit your tongue and tried to let it go.

Tried, but failed. You missed him. You missed his smiles, your conversations... your days felt a little bit greyer, and a lot lonelier. You’d chalked it up to missing your friend – after all, you were still friends... right?

But one day you saw him on patrol with another hero, a smile on his face as he talked to them. They stood a little too close to him for your liking, the light in their eyes as they looked at him a little too bright. That part wasn’t surprising. It was pretty unanimous in the popularity polls that Shouto was a beautiful man. What did surprise was the sharp sting of jealousy that shot through you.

That was when you realized. You liked him.

The feelings had crept up on quiet feet, through a forest of gentle of smiles and the low rumble of laughter. Through shared lunches and bad jokes (some of which went over his head). In such a short time, he’d helped you grow as a hero and celebrated in your successes from the sidelines. He’d been there for you so much and so perfectly that no longer having him with you left you feeling empty.

You felt like such a fool.

Was that why he’d started to distance himself? Did he see it before you did and immediately make his decision before you were even aware of it? It was like you’d received the rejection before you’d ever even thought of the question. The entire situation felt backwards and upside down, leaving you feeling confused and embarrassed.

You wanted to run away from the entire situation, to transfer to another agency without a single word shared. But your heart wouldn’t let you. Not without answers. You deserved answers. There were still too many questions.

It was late in the evening, with most of they daytime staff gone and the nightshift heroes out on patrol. Shouto had just finished his shift and changed back into his civilian clothes when he came out into the hall from the locker rooms. You were there, leaning quietly against the wall as if you were waiting for someone, your presence taking him by surprise.

“Y/N!” he exclaimed as his eyes locked with yours. His unruly heart skipped at the sight of you.

Your eyes met his, a silent hurt swimming in their depths. That’s when he realized... the person you were waiting for was him.

“Hi...” you mumbled quietly. You broke eye contact and stared at the floor. “Um... could I talk to you for a minute?”

Shouto stared at you for a moment, taking in your averted eyes and hunched shoulders, and his chest tightened. You looked... sad. Upset, even. Your smile that had given him butterflies before was gone now, and your body language screamed of hurt even as you tried to hide it from him with arms crossed over your chest. There was no doubt that he was the cause of it, that he was seeing this part of you because you were in his presence. He knew he’d grown distant from you, a panicked decision that he’d committed himself to because he didn’t know what else to do.

But looking at you now, he hated it and he hated himself. He did this; he made you feel this way. Shouto inwardly cursed his own cowardice. You had every right to be hurt, and you had every right to be mad at him.

He had to make this right.

“Yeah.” He finally replied with a sigh.

Shouto joined you against the wall with his hands shoved into his pockets, his arm a few inches from yours. He joined you in staring at the floor, his eyes focusing on a piece of dried gum stuck to the tile.

“Did I do something wrong?” you asked finally, your voice tight.

Shouto’s eyes snapped up to look at you in shock. That wasn’t the question he’d thought you were going to ask. Why would you assume that you’re the one who did something wrong??

“What?” he asked, stunned.

“I just... we used to work together a lot, and talk, and go on lunches... and I thought we were becoming really good friends, you know? But then it just... stopped. You got busy, and then you stopped working with me, and... I can’t help but feel like there’s a reason for it all.” Your eyes finally met his just and he could see the tears being held back by the curve of your lashes. “Did I... do something to make you uncomfortable?”

You words were like a punch to the gut. Make him uncomfortable? If anything, he made himself uncomfortable when he began to realize what the pounding in his heart meant every time he was with you. Every time you smiled, or touched him...

“No.” he replied emphatically. The emotion in his tone took you by surprise and he softened his voice as he returned his eyes to the floor. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Your face scrunched up in confusion. “Then why-”

“I can’t think straight when I’m around you.” He blurted out.

The two of you froze, him staring at the floor as his face turned bright red and you staring at him, watching it happen.

“...what?” you finally whispered, your pulse racing.

Shouto averted his face from your wide eyes in shame. “I... I can’t think straight when I’m around you.” He repeated.

Your mind felt numb as the words tried to sink in. But it was a struggle; Shouto’s words didn’t fit at all what you’d concocted in your head. It was like trying to fit a round block into a square hole.

You cleared your throat. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...” Shouto took a shaky breath before returning his gaze to the floor in front of him, still unable to look at you, “something happened, and I just... whenever I was around you, I couldn’t focus. On anything. Not on my job. Not on my paperwork. Not on my food...”

“Wha... why not?” you asked, your mind still reeling as hurt slowly gave way to the weightless sensation of hope.

Shouto finally looked at you through his soft bangs, his bicolored eyes locking with yours for the first time in weeks. “Because...” he replied. “All I could think about was you.”

It was as if someone had pulled you out of freezing, murky water. You gasped for air, the weight of your worries evaporating off of your skin under the sunshine of his confession.

“Me??” you breathed.

Shouto looked back at the floor again, the shame still in his eyes. “Silly, huh? So unprofessional of me. I figured... I didn’t...” he took a breath and tried again. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” A slight grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “And I needed to be able to focus on my job. But...” – he looked back at you – “really... more than anything, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not...”

Shouto’s eyes finally met yours, wide with surprise. “What?”

A small smile blossomed on your lips. “I’m not uncomfortable.” You replied softly.

A warmth spread through his veins. “You’re not?”

You shook your head as you bit your lower lip with barely contained happiness. Shouto’s eyes glanced down at the action as his arm gently found its way around your waist of its own volition. Your body felt warm beneath his touch, and it sent goosebumps across his skin in excitement.

“You sure?” he whispered, as he stared into your eyes. His other hand came up to gently brush the old tears from your lashes with his thumb.

You began to lean into him and nodded. “I’m sure. Really sure.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” He whispered with a small smile. His hold guided you closer, closing the small distance left between you.

Your lips finally met, warm and gentle as Shouto pulled you flush against him. You could feel it – that painful knot that you’d been caring in your chest began to unfurl with the gentleness of rose petals. It softened everything – your mind, your heart, your kiss, your touch. It made a bed of warmth to nestle into, a special, secret place that was only big enough for two. Your arms wound their way around Shouto’s neck as a happy hum found its way to the back of your throat.

Your kiss was cut short by the sound a familiar, angry voice.

“GET A FUCKIN’ ROOM, YOU TWO!! DON’T DO THAT SHIT IN THE HALLWAY!!”

You quickly pulled away from Shouto, your body hot with embarrassment to see Bakugou standing there, his face red with anger. Deku was with him of course, his face red as well, but more for embarrassment.

You self-consciously rubbed your lips together bashfully. “Um... sorry.” You mumbled.

“Y/N! Uhh...” Midoriya scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Congrats?”

You stifled a chuckled. “Thanks, Midoriya.”

Bakugou huffed in disgust and went into the locker rooms, dragging a blushing Midoriya after him. “Don’t stare, ya fuckin’ weirdo...”

After they were gone, you turned and looked back at Shouto with a chuckle. “Well, we’re never gonna hear the end of that, are we?”

He gave a small smile. “Probably not.” His thumb traced along your cheekbone, gentle and cool as he admired you, and you shivered beneath his gaze. “Worth it though...” he smirked.

[dracusfyre]

Wing and a Prayer

Had a pretty bad bout of writer’s block towards some of my WIPS so I took a break and wrote a quick wingfic, I’ve never written wingfic before and was intrigued to give it a shot. Shout out to @massivespacewren for the prompt :)

also on AO3

~~~

"Oh, shit-"

It was just a brief curse before Tony's comms cut out, and in the scheme of things, "oh shit" was rather mild given the situation. But there was a note in Tony's voice that made Bucky look up from his rifle scope to find him, trying to see the flash of his repulsers and the dark brown of his wings amidst the cloud of drones that were swarming the city.

"Oh, fuck," Bucky breathed when he found him. He dropped his rifle and started running, keeping his eyes on where Tony was dropping rapidly, his desperately flapping wings and the intermittent bursts from apparently busted repulsors doing little to slow his fall.

Steve was on the other side of the fight, covering some escaping civilians as the dive-bombing drones tried to knock them from the sky, and Natasha and Clint were too far away. "Tony, I'm coming!" He shouted, ripping at the velcro on his body armor and shrugging it off as he ran. This was Tony's nightmare, his repulsors failing him while he was in the sky now that his flight muscles were compromised by the arc reactor.  He left his ammunition and hand grenades with his tac belt on the edge of the roof as he jumped, his wings stretching to their limit as he strove for height. As he flapped he realized he was still carrying too much weight to catch Tony, so he glided for a second, catching thermals coming off of the sun-lit city streets to lift him up as he reached down and unzipped his combat boots, kicking them off to land somewhere below. Another roof was coming up, so he sprinted along the roof, ignoring the broken glass and rocks that dug into his feet, then jumped off the edge again with more powerful beats of his wings. He was gaining on Tony, who had somehow figured out how to use the failing repulsors to at least steer him towards a place to land that might be more forgiving than the city streets, wings spread for a few moments at a time before the muscles gave out and they crumpled.

“Come on, come on,” Bucky said breathlessly, chest and lungs burning as he struggled to catch up. Whoever was controlling the drones had seen that Tony was vulnerable, and he was having to waste precious repulsor power shooting them down as they attacked him. A small swarm spotted Bucky trying to rescue him and moved to intercept, but as they closed in on him Bucky twisted into a tornado flip, flicking out his wings so the the razor sharp vibranium primaries on his wings sliced through the drones, leaving most of them damaged or disabled.  It cost him some height, though, and he cursed as he tried to make up for it, ignoring the last remaining drone as it dived at him like a mobbing bird, until it got too close and he grabbed it, metal arm crushing the central processer and tossing it to the side.

“Tony, I need you to fold your wings,” Bucky said urgently, searching their surroundings for a good landing point. He was finally a little higher than Tony and tilted his wings on a course for intercept, steeper than a glide but not quite so sharp as a dive.

“What?” Tony said with surprise, and Bucky saw him craning his neck to see where Bucky was. “What do you-“

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes, but-“

“Wings in, now!” It was gratifying to see the speed that Tony obeyed, folding his wings tight up against his back even though it violated every instinct a person had, to close their wings while falling. He also stopped trying to use his repulsors and brought his arms to his chest and his legs together, turning into exactly the kind of target that Bucky needed.

Bucky hit him at a high enough speed that it almost knocked the breath out of him and he heard Tony grunt, but Tony didn’t move as Bucky wrapped his arms around Tony’s chest, even though he probably crushed a few feathers in the process. Bucky’s wings strained with the extra weight, and the glide turned into more of a dive than Bucky was comfortable with. He knew he couldn’t land like this; they were picking up speed too fast to even land safely – or even unsafely - on a grassy field, the force of the impact would be fatal. They had to get out of the sky now.

Bucky eyed one of the skyscrapers that was looming in the sky in front of them and groaned inwardly. This was going to suck.  As he steered towards one of the huge glass windows, he brought his metal hand up to tuck Tony’s head into his shoulder and protect his spine, then at the last second he curled his wings around them and prayed that the vibranium-reinforced bones of his wing wrists would be enough to break through the glass.

It did, but it hurt; the impact shuddered through his bones, and his muscles screamed at the effort of keepings his wings tight around them as they rolled through desks and cubicle dividers before finally coming to a stop.

“Ow,” Bucky said, letting his exhausted wings flop open to splay out on the cheap commercial carpeting as he opened his eyes to check the damage. He looked down at Tony, who was laying on his chest. “Are you okay?” he asked, as he let go.

“Am I okay?” Tony sat up sharply and scrambled off of Bucky’s chest to start checking him for injuries. “You flew through an industrial-strength window! Are you insane? Those things are specifically designed to not be broken by people throwing themselves at them!”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.” He wanted to say, I’m okay, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that was true or not – pain was starting to make itself known even through the adrenaline rush, the hot ache of overworked muscles, sharp pains that meant he was probably bleeding, and the throb of something that was probably torn or dislocated. But Tony seemed fine, judging from the way he was still scolding Bucky while his hands, gentle despite their briskness, ran over his arms and legs and combed through the feathers on his wings, searching for injuries. “Better than hitting the ground, right?”

Tony paused for a moment, sat back on his heels and looked Bucky in the eyes. Bucky wondered if he knew how his wings were hunched protectively over Bucky. “Thank you,” he said, and Bucky got a glimpse of the fear he must have felt as he fell. “Whoever is guiding the drones realized that the repulsors were helping me fly and also helping me shoot down the drones, so they had the drones suicide bomb me until they took them out.”

“Figured something like that had happened,” Bucky said, managing a wan smile. The pain was really starting to set in now, so he tried to sit up or roll over before he got stuck on the floor like a wet rag. The effort tore a groan out of him as he realized that yep, his maneuver had definitely dislocated his wings.

“Oh, God, Bucky,” Tony said, giving him a hand to help him sit up, looking with dismay at how Bucky’s wings sagged on his back, dragging limply on the carpet. He ran his hands along the wing bones, searching for breaks; Bucky could have told him that with the amount of vibranium that Hydra had used to reinforce his bones, they would probably be ripped off before anything broke, but instead Bucky watched and wished he could feel Tony’s touch around the unignorable shriek of pain coming from his shoulders. “I don’t feel any breaks, I think they’re just dislocated,” Tony said after a moment.

“Do you know how to reset them?”

“In theory.” Tony grimaced. Now he was smoothing down Bucky’s ruffled coverts, unconsciously grooming Bucky as his gaze searched the room that they’d tumbled into. Their impact had left a trail of broken or shoved aside office furniture, tangled computer cables, and dented filing cabinets, but it wasn’t like they’d landed in a doctor’s office so there wasn’t a convenient examination table with wing supports for them to use. “Guess we’ll just have to do it laying down.”

Bucky mourned when Tony stopped grooming to help Bucky move so he could lay down on his stomach, though the movement was less “laying down” and more “controlled topple” as Tony let him down slowly. Tony had to spread out Bucky’s wings by hand, fussing more than he needed to as he made sure that none of the feathers were torqued or twisted, staying carefully away from Bucky’s deadly primaries.  Tony also made tiny noises as he saw the places on Bucky’s back where the glass and debris had cut him on the way in, but reported that none of the injuries were major.  As Bucky rested his head on his arms, he directed Tony on how to reset his shoulder joints. “I need you to do it fast and hard,” Bucky warned him. “You can’t be afraid of hurting me, because doing it more than once would be even worse.”

“I will,” Tony said, patting Bucky between his shoulder blades reassuringly. “One, two, thr-“ and halfway into three he shoved hard, before Bucky could tense up, and even as Bucky choked on a scream of pain he heard the pop of the joint resetting. Bucky panted harshly as the pain on that side settled into an angry pulse that felt much better than it had before, even though it was going to be a while before Bucky would want to move his wings on purpose. “Do you want me to wait before I do the next one?” Tony asked, sounding concerned.

Bucky swallowed back a whimper at the thought of going through that again. “Yes,” he forced himself to say. “Just give me a minute.”

“Okay.” Tony sat against Bucky’s side, a warm weight at his hip, and started grooming Bucky’s wing comfortingly, straightening out the feathers, smoothing them down, and picking out the detritus that had gathered in them. Despite everything, Bucky felt himself relaxing; it had been a long time since anyone had cared for his wings with anything other than brisk professionalism.

He could have laid there all day letting Tony do that, but Bucky reminded himself that there was a battle going on outside their impromptu refuge and so he said, “Okay, I’m rea- FUCK!”

“I’m sorry, Bucky,” Tony said, this time stroking down Bucky’s back as he shuddered from the second relocation. “It’s better when you’re not expecting it.”

“Yep,” Bucky agreed through gritted teeth, trying to focus on the feeling of Tony’s hand on his back rather than the pain radiating from his shoulders. “So what’s the plan now?” he asked, trying to find something else to think about. He had no idea what was going on in the sky outside, his communicator had been lost in the impact, and wasn’t sure that there was anything they could do now that they were both grounded, but he figured Tony probably had an idea, he always did.

“As soon as you’re okay for me to leave you, I am going to finish trying to disrupt the signal to the drones,” Tony said. While Bucky slowly tried to relax the muscles that had instinctively tightened up from the pain, Tony went back to grooming his wings to help. “That’s what I was doing when they swarmed me.”

“You should go do that,” Bucky said, shoving down the selfish urge to let Tony keep grooming him. “I’m just going to lay here for a little while, then I’ll cut strips to bind my wings until my shoulders heal.”

“Are you sure?”

Bucky forced himself to nod, and then with a last pat on his secondary coverts Tony stood. “I just need to find this place’s IT closet and I think I’ll have everything I need,” Tony said, and Bucky lifted his head from his arms to watch as Tony disappeared through the maze of cubicles. After a few minutes, Bucky pushed himself to sitting, then to his feet, hissing as the movement jostled his wings. He unfastened the Velcro that held his shirt together along his ribs then pulled it over his head, trying to move his arms as little as possible, then started ripping it into long strips to help support his wings.

“Found it!” Tony crowed just as Bucky had gotten as far along as he could without help. Bucky looked up just in time to see Tony’s steps slow as he came around the corner and saw Bucky shirtless, and the way Tony’s eyes skimmed down his chest before coming back up to his face went a long way towards making Bucky’s day better. “I, uh, I just need five minutes with this router and we’ll be set,” Tony continued, dragging his eyes away to look at the electronics in his arms. He cleared the stuff off a nearby table and took a seat, leaning against the chest support as he started to disassemble everything and start plugging it into his headset, using his wings to brush the bits that he didn’t need out of his way. As Bucky took a seat too and watched, Tony started explaining what he was doing, which Bucky only listened to with half an ear, most of his attention on the sky outside the window to make sure they weren’t ambushed by any drones. He could tell when Tony was successful because suddenly clouds of drones started dropping all across the sky before Tony could even say “That should do it.” Bucky’s mouth quirked as Tony let out a smug ha as he turned to watch the black specks fall all across the city; it would never fail to impress Bucky how Tony could literally go from falling out of the sky to defeating the enemy in the space of twenty minutes. The newspapers had taken to calling him the Invincible Iron Hawk and even though Tony complained about the name Bucky thought the invincible part was spot on. Indomitable would work too, and as far as Bucky was concerned, he’d add irresistible to the list.

“Nice work,” Bucky said, and his face must have been showing more of his thoughts than he meant it to because when Tony met his gaze his face went red and his wings half opened before resettling against his back.

“Thanks,” he said, then cleared his throat. “I’ll bind up your wings, then we’ll hit the elevators and head home?”

“Sure.” Tony was an old hand at binding wings to carry the weight and ease the pressure from the chest and shoulders, making sure the strips went across Bucky’s chest and that it rested under the feathers to keep it from slipping and breaking any. “There,” he said when he was done, patting Bucky’s bare shoulder.

Bucky reached up and put his hand on top of Tony’s before he could pull it away. “Would you like to go flying with me sometime?” he asked before he could talk himself out of it, feeling his face flame. “Flying flying?”

Tony’s grin was rueful. “Flying flying? I don’t know, I think you did some pretty impressive flying to save my life back there,” he teased, but his wings were up and already unfurling, like he was ready to go right now. Bucky’s wings instinctively tried to match him, and the spike of pain made Bucky wince. Tony gave him a sympathetic look and refolded his wings, reaching over to squeeze his hand instead. “Yes, that would be lovely. I will fix my gauntlets, you heal, and then we’ll go flying.”

[raibebe]

Sugar and Spice

Genre: Fluff? Words: 4.390 Warnings: none for this chapter

Chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | masterlist

A/N: Sugar and Spice is a series now, I know you all probably wanted more smut but I chose to write a prequel about how Jeno ended up being a sugar baby in the first place.  Since this is going to be a longer story, I wanted to try to do it in chapters instead of writing one giant thing. Later on I will switch the POV but I felt like it was needed to start off with Jeno’s.  Do not worry, there will be smut in later chapters.

Taglist: @yutaalove​, @byunniebaekhyunnie​

Like all the bad decisions Lee Jeno had made in his life, this one started with none other than Lee Donghyuck. The two boys were sitting in the university’s cafeteria where Donghyuck watched Jeno eat the food they had served with a disgusted look on his face. “I don’t understand how you can even swallow that.” “It’s either this or instant ramen again and I am pretty sure my body consists of 60% ramen already,” Jeno whined, trying to wash down what must be the most dry piece of meat he had ever tasted his entire life with some water. “Dude you work like three jobs,” Donghyuck groaned, kicking his friend beneath the table. “Got fired from the library because they caught me sleeping,” Jeno sighed deeply. “You look like you’re ready to pass out right now.” “Hyuck, I am functioning on three hours of sleep and two redbull.” “Jeno,” Donghyuck sighed and Jeno hated it when he used that tone of voice. He didn’t need Donghyuck’s pity. He could do this. He was fine. Well mostly. Apart from the fact that he got an average amount of four hours of sleep, was barely passing his classes and got fired by one of his many part time jobs every few months his life was absolutely peachy. “I’m sure if you talk to your parents again-“ “No,” he cut Donghyuck off, “I won’t come begging at their door. I chose this path for myself and they simply don’t agree Hyuck.” “Your parents suck ass,” his friend sighed, leaning back in his chair, “Pretty sure my parents would throw a party each day for a week straight if I had told them I wanted to become a vet.” “Well mine aren’t,” Jeno sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair. It was getting too long again, his bangs hanging into his eyes. Could he ask Renjun to cut it again? Did he trust the furious Chinese man with something sharp that close to his eyes?

For a while it was quiet between the two friends while Jeno continued to stuff his face with the cafeteria food. He didn’t have much time before he had to go to his shift at a little record store not far from his dorm building. It wasn’t paying the best but the owner of the shop and no issues with him doing his readings there when no customers were around. “You know that we miss you, Jeno. Right?” Donghyuck cut the silence which made Jeno stop mid bite, “We haven’t done anything with all the boys in forever and I am not counting the times we were at the club while you were working and declining the tips we were trying to give you.” “I don’t need nor want your pity money, Hyuck,” Jeno groaned again and shoved the plate with his food away. His appetite had left him. Donghyuck and him had this conversation every other week always with the same outcome: Donghyuck explaining how he was worried about him and Jeno telling him that he was fine (which he most likely wasn’t but he managed). “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to make it to our meets ups, I really am,” Jeno tried to explain and Donghyuck’s eyes immediately went soft, “I just- I’m behind on my tuition again and haven’t paid the lease for the dorms for the last moth yet. I really need to take every minute and hour of overtime I can get and my grades aren’t getting any better either. This will all be for nothing if I fail my anatomy class again.” “Jeno,” Donghyuck tried again, “You can’t keep on like this for another three years.” “I have to Hyuck,” Jeno sighed, slouching back into his chair, “I have to.” His body had been screaming at him to stop whatever he was doing for weeks now and to be completely honest, he was aching for a full eight hours of sleep and not the usual four that were just disconnected naps throughout his day.

“I’m going to make a suggestion and I need you to promise me to not be mad at me, alright,” Donghyuck suddenly said, holding out his pinky finger. “Hyuck, I won’t take money from any of you. I don’t want Chenle to pay for my lease again. That was a one-time thing and I told him that I would pay him back,” Jeno immediately argued, shame running through him. He hated constantly being treated to meals and the thought that he had a debt with his younger friend even though the Chinese had told Jeno hundreds of times that he didn’t need to money back. “That’s not what I wanted to suggest. Now promise.” Jeno rolled his eyes before interlocking his pinky with one of his arguably best friends. “Actually this isn’t my idea. But Jaemin and Renjun brought it up last Friday at our movie night.” That alone made Jeno feel bad again. While his friends had been all cuddled up in Chenle’s apartment to watch some movies and eat popcorn while drinking cheap beer, he had been working in a sweaty club with horrible music that made his ears ring. “I’m sorry,” he muttered under his breath but Donghyuck didn’t seem to hear him. “But hear me out: Have you ever thought about becoming a sugar baby?” Jeno lost all control over his facial muscles and was pretty sure his brain had just short circuited, his open mouth free real estate for the fruit flies that were all over the cafeteria. “No, no, think about it Jeno,” Donghyuck immediately argued, “I did my research and you can get a monthly allowance for at least a thousand dollar if not more. You’d be able to quit that job at the shady bar.” “Hyuck,” Jeno cut in when his brain had successfully rebooted, “In case you haven’t noticed in all the years we’ve been friends: I’m not gay.” “So what?” “What do you mean so what? I’m not going to prostitute myself for some old man just because I need money,” Jeno hissed between his teeth. “Oh my god Jeno,” Donghyuck sighed, “You’re so 2010. There are plenty of wealthy woman out there looking for some arm candy to pass their time.” “You’re insane Donghyuck.” “Insanely brilliant that is,” his friend grinned, “This is literally the perfect solution for all your problems.” “How is fucking some old hag going to solve any of my problems?” “Oh come on, Jeno,” Donghyuck groaned, “There are plenty of sites that let you choose your preferred partner for this kind of arrangement. And don’t even try to deny that you’re into older girls.” At that Jeno flushed a deep red color. His preference about his partners was basically an open secret in their group of friends that he had confessed after a drunken round of truth or dare some time in highschool when Renjun had asked him why he had rejected the confession of a cute girl a year below them to keep crushing on the substitute teacher they had. Chenle had not let this thing die until Jeno had started to date a girl from Mark’s class and even then the boy had made some cruel comments about their age difference. “Here, Renjun found a site that seems very legit,” Donghyuck brought him back from his memories, scribbling down a link on a piece of paper, “Please just check it out.” “That’s a lot of promises I have to give today,” Jeno mused but took the paper to put it into his pocket. “We’re just trying to look out for you Jeno.” “I know,” he sighed, “And I appreciate that.” “You’re running thin Jeno.” “I know Hyuck!” He said, making his friend flinch at his outburst, “I fucking know, okay. I’m sorry I am making you all worry with how terrible my life currently is. It’s not like I am happy about it but you could really stop bitching about it.” Just when Donghyuck opened his mouth to reply something, Jeno’s eyes shot to the big clock on the wall. “Safe it Hyuck, I need to go to my shift.” With that he got up to hoist his bag that was barely holding together onto his shoulder and basically fled the cafeteria. Donghyuck could bring back his plate, that was the least he could do.  

Once outside, the student quickly plugged in his earphones into his phone and played his favorite playlist on his way to the record store, inwardly scolding himself for being so proud and not leeching off of Jaemin’s spotify anymore when what felt like the third ad in ten minutes interrupted his vibing. At the record store, he quickly unlocked the front door and put on a random record to play over the speakers before he got situated behind the counter to try to revise his notes from today that were unreadable at best. He had fallen asleep at least twice in his morning class and had to be shaken awake by one of his classmates once the lecture was over. Great. So self-study it was.

Over the course of his shift, he was only interrupted twice from reading the chapter in the book that he was pretty sure he should have brought back to the library last week. But since he really didn’t have any money to spare for the fine, he had decided to keep it a little longer until he was at a financially better place which was nowhere near in close sight now that he was fired from his job at said library. Which brought him back to what Donghyuck had said to him. But him becoming a sugar baby? Jeno really couldn’t think of himself in such a position. Sure, he wasn’t bad looking but when he thought of the word sugar baby he thought of beautiful and petite boys like Renjun or maybe even Jaemin but him? Even though he had lost quite some muscle mass since this shitshow had begun, he was still built quiet broad and had more of a masculine, handsome feel than sweet and beautiful. And wasn’t that was sugar mommies would look for? If they wanted a man, they wouldn’t search for a someone younger. Jeno sighed loudly and let his head hit his book. This was a hopeless situation.

But he guessed having a look at the site wouldn’t hurt and so Jeno ended up typing in the address of the sugar baby site into the computer at work, praying the owner didn’t know how to check which sites he had opened once he’d delete the browser history. The site itself looked clean, mainly consisting of muted pastel colors and black font and accents. If you weren’t signed in, you didn’t get much information on what exactly was going on but the site claimed that keeping their clients data safe was their main concern since very influential people were using their site. Jeno completely blamed Donghyuck and the two redbulls he had already had for clicking on the pastel blue ‘sign up’ button. He then had to fill out basic data about himself: His gender, age, profession and interests along with his sexual orientation. He hesitated for a second when the site asked if he was okay to be partnered with someone of the same sex for a strictly platonic relationship but denied it in the end. Next he was asked to choose a nickname to chat with potential benefactors as the site called the sugar mommies and daddies. Was this where he should choose something cute to attract people to his profile? Whacking his brain for any cute plays on his actual name, he came up with exactly nothing other than the No-Jam nickname he had earned in highschool which really wasn’t cute at all. The only other thing that came to mind was when Jaemin jokingly called himself Nana and Jeno Nono in that god-awful aegyo voice which never failed to make Jeno cringe. Why did he have to choose a nickname anyways? It was to protect the benefactors; he really didn’t have anything else to lose than his dignity. Sighing, Jeno quickly typed in: ‘Jenonono’ as his nickname, only cringing slightly when choosing a password and entering his email address to confirm everything. Once he had activated his account with the link he was sent, Jeno only had to choose a couple of pictures for his profile to complete it. Well this was a problem. Jeno couldn’t even remember the last time he took a selfie where he wasn’t looking like death on two legs to send them to his friends. He quickly scrolled through his camera roll in search for at least one decently attractive photo. He only stopped scrolling when he found photos from almost a year ago before he had changed his field of study and had the fall-out with his parents. His hair was bleached a bright blonde color and the sides were shaved but he was looking good, more toned than he was now and like he actually slept at night. Not even close to how he was looking right now but it was still him, so did this count as catfishing? He quickly chose two photos with his blonde hair styled up and one with his natural haircolor from before he and Jaemin had the great idea to bleach each other’s hair and send them to himself via mail so he could upload them onto the website.

When Jeno pressed the ‘complete’ button, the site showed him on overview of what his profile would look like and it wasn’t even half bad if he did say so himself. He still felt a little uneasy about the whole thing and the fact that he was basically catfishing people into thinking he still looked so bulky and put together like he had looked last year didn’t help. “Come on Jeno, you have nothing to lose,” he grumbled and pressed the ‘confirm’ button one last time. His profile disappeared and the site instead showed Jeno their actual layout for the matching. Unlike other dating sites, he couldn’t swipe through potential benefactors himself; he had to wait until someone actually message him. Great. So he had to hope that his pictures and his honestly not great profile would lure someone in who was at least mildly attractive. Maybe no one would ever contact him and he could just throw it back into Donghyuck’s face how this had been a shitty idea to begin with. Sighing, he closed the site for now and deleted the browser history just to be safe as well.

The rest of his shift went by in a blur of trying to make sense of his scribbly notes and whatever the authors of the book he was reading were trying to teach him about the anatomy of different species and Jeno didn’t even think twice about the site he had signed up for when he closed down the shop and went home to his shitty dorm. The short trip to the convenience store only made him more aware of how poor he was when he had to choose between an actual meal and food for the cat he had recently (very much illegally) saved from the streets and taken in. He’d be more than damned if the kitten he had named Bongsik would have to suffer, so it would be a delicious meal for her and more instant ramen for Jeno.

Back at his dorm room - a single one that could barely fit his bed, wardrobe and desk - the little cat immediately rubbed its tiny head against his pant leg and Jeno couldn’t help but smile and bend down to pet the little creature. He felt a little bit of tension immediately seep from his tired muscles and indulged the kitten in a little cuddle session until he felt his eyes starting to itch. His allergies be damned! Sighing the boy got up to actually shed his jacket and shoes and opened the fresh can of delicious cat food for Bongsik who immediately devoured it. If she thought it was delicious, would it taste good for Jeno as well? Chuckling he turned back to prepare his own food, all this instant ramen might have started to take a toll on his psyche. He ate his meal in silence before throwing both containers in the trash. Jeno knew he had to work on his essay for one of his classes but for a moment he just felt the need to relax for a bit, especially now that he didn’t have to rush over to his job at the library. Taking out his phone, he quickly replied to the group chat of his friends where they were animatedly planning a trip to the cinema on Friday which Jeno had to decline. Not only did he have a shift at the bar but he also didn’t really have the money for it. Sighing he locked his phone again. Well that went great, now he was stressed again. “Bongsik you love me right?” He asked and turned towards his cat again who was lounging next to him on the floor, her belly full with delicious food. Oh to be a cat...

Jeno sighed again when his cat of course didn’t answer. He really was going insane. But it was going to be worth it, he reminded himself again. Once this was all over he would be a vet and able to help all kinds of animals. He would make good money and could pay off his tuition slowly and maybe a couple of years later he could even have his own medical practice. But to have all that, he really needed to up his grades. Especially this godawful anatomy grade. Groaning Jeno got up from the floor to plop down on his desk and start his laptop that made an awful lot of noise while booting up. Knowing that it took the device a good two minutes give or take to completely be ready, he started to go through his notes again before typing them into the document where he compiled all his notes just to have them all nice and neat in one place.

By some ungodly hour in the morning, Jeno’s eyes started to close more and more often on their own accord and the letters on the screen started to blur together despite wearing his glasses. “We should probably call it a night, Bongsik,” he spoke into the silent room, his cat already fast asleep at the foot of his bed. Fondly smiling at her, he saved his progress on both his notes and his essay and shut down his laptop. Jeno didn’t really dare to look at the time, so he just quickly grabbed his stuff for the bathroom and got himself ready for bed in the vacant bathroom he shared with a couple of other students. But at this time it was almost guaranteed to be empty.

Once back in his dorm, Jeno quickly climbed under the covers and plugged his phone in to make sure his alarm would actually go off in about 4 hours. Even though he was dead tired now that his body was surrounded by the warmth of his bed, a notification caught his attention. Leeching off of the free wifi at the record store, he had downloaded the app that came with the sugar baby site praying it would work on his outdated phone which it luckily did. Maybe the programmers had actually thought about broke students with shitty phones just like him for once. Taking a deep breath, Jeno clicked on the notification that had told him that a potential benefactor wanted to text him. Well that was quick. A lot quicker than he had anticipated. When the app had finally loaded with the shitty wifi he definitely not stole from his dorm neighbor (he had set his password as 1234, he was begging to have it stolen), a profile of a woman showed up. She smiled warmly in the picture she had chosen and it seemed to be taken at some tropical place judging by the palm trees in the background. Jeno quickly skimmed through the rest of her profile that only said that she wasn’t that much older than him. Well she was but not to the extent where she could have been his mother - ew. As her job she just had just listed estate agent. Did that pay well? Jeno didn’t know. His thumb hovered over the pastel button that said ‘accept’. If he would press this, this wasn’t just a ‘I’ll take a look at this app for Donghyuck’s sake’ then he was actually invested. But even if he accepted, he was not entitled to the woman. He could still say no if she turned out to be a creep. Hell, he didn’t even have to meet her ever if he didn’t like chatting with her. Before his courage could leave him, Jeno quickly accepted the offer and a new page opened that looked just like every other messenger.

To: Jenonono You’re up late.

What a weird way to open up a conversation. But it certainly was better than perverted innuendos or a ‘hi’ like Jaemin was continuously whining over whenever he had reinstalled tinder. But what was he supposed to reply? Should he try to act cute and coy? Was that what she would be looking for? But before he could even type anything, she had sent another message.

To: Jenonono You don’t seem like the typical boy you find on here.

What was that supposed to mean?

From: Jenonono I’m not? what are those like then?

To: Jenonono They’re not as handsome as you.

At that Jeno flushed a deep red color. He wasn’t used to such blatant flirting.

To: Jenonono I really like the blonde on you but the darker color is cute as well.

From: Jenonono it’s dark right now

As soon as he hit send, Jeno wanted to hit himself. What was she supposed to answer to that message? God he was such an idiot.

To: Jenonono Cute. Are you nervous?

From: Jenonono I have never done this before and didn’t think someone would message someone like me

To: Jenonono I haven’t been doing this for long either. And what do you mean by ‘someone like me’?

From: Jenonono you said yourself that I’m not the typical boy you would find on here...

To: Jenonono Well occasionally there is a diamond between all the rocks.

Jeno wasn’t sure if this was even an actual saying but it made him feel warm nevertheless.

From: Jenonono you’re pretty forward with your flirting

To: Jenonono Am I making you shy, baby?

As if to prove her point, Jeno almost choked on his own saliva, coughing loudly which ultimately woke up Bongsik who threw him a very much not amused gaze. He hadn’t known that just reading the word baby would have such an effect on him. A voice in the back of his head that sounded a little too much like Donghyuck called him a ‘bottom bitch’. Biting his lip he contemplated whether he should flirt back. Up until now it was fun talking to her. And he still had nothing to lose.

From: Jenonono What if I maybe blushed just the smallest bit?

To: Jenonono You’re so cute. I’m glad I found you. But you should go sleep, baby. It’s late already.

From: Jenonono shouldn’t you be asleep as well then?

To: Jenonono I just came back from a long flight and my bed seems a little lonely.

Was this his chance to get a little flirtatious himself? Was she testing him?

From: Jenonono would you want me there with you? so it’s not as lonely?

To: Jenonono That does sound very tempting, baby boy. Let me take you out for a meal before I take you to bed.

Jeno’s breath caught in his throat for a little before he broke out in little giggles. He had completely forgotten how good it felt to feel wanted between all the stress that his life currently was. Maybe but just maybe Donghyuck had been right and this truly could be the solution for many of his problems.

From: Jenonono is that an invitation?

To: Jenonono How does lunch tomorrow sound like baby? I’ll treat you to something delicious.

Gnawing at his thumb, Jeno read the message over and over. He didn’t even know the woman. Meeting up with her might be a risk. For all he knew she could be a serial killer.

To: Jenonono I know this is sudden. But I want to get to know you better. Face to face. Not just over a stupid text box.

Taking a deep breath, Jeno took all his courage and replied with shaking fingers.

From: Jenonono I have a little break between my last class of the day and before I have to go to my part time job.

To: Jenonono There is a cute little bistro not too far from where I remember the main dorm buildings were. [link attached]

Clicking on the link, a website opened and showed him a French-style bistro that judging by the address was right between his dorm and the record shop. He should be able to do it. Curiously he clicked on the menu and immediately regretted it. The prices were ridiculous. For the price of a simple piece of bread, he could easily feed Bongsik and himself for two days.

From: Jenonono isn’t this a little too much?

To: Jenonono Let me spoil you, baby. Just tell me the time and I’ll make sure that I can be there.

From: Jenonono would around one work for you?

To: Jenonono I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to meeting you. Now sleep tight and have sweet dreams, baby.

From: Jenonono maybe I’ll even dream of you

Screaming into his pillow, Jeno threw his phone away. He couldn’t believe that he just send that. Quickly grabbing his kitten, he pressed his face into her soft fur while she struggled in his hold. “Bongsik I have a date,” he whispered, “An actual date. With a potentially very rich woman. I can’t believe I actually did that.”